


Vigilantes

by yeojasamho



Series: Superpowers [2]
Category: DEAN (Korean Musician), EXO (Band), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2019-05-29 14:25:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 37,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15075068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeojasamho/pseuds/yeojasamho
Summary: Taking place a year after the events of T.S.A, Seoul is once again in danger and it's up to four superpowered individuals to save it.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by "The Defenders"  
> Most of the plot is mine. Characters aren't.

Present day. 

 

Kim Jaehwan lugged his guitar case with a sigh as he left the university. He was up to his ears in preparing for his finals the coming month. There were only a few months left until graduation, and he felt more prepared for that than ever. He really couldn't wait to be out of school and working. Jaehwan wanted to repay his guardians for putting up with him all these years. He wanted to help out, and because of his classes this year, he couldn't get a side job to help with the rent. 

 

Things were oddly quiet lately. It wasn't just with him and his own life, but everywhere, in the whole country. It was under attack last year, but a group of non-human entities coming from under the ground. Creatures that reminded him of the orcs in "Lord of the Rings" but possessed powers that no ordinary human could take on. They were then defeated by a group of people, who possessed the same powers, but it ended in them disappearing, perhaps having died in battle or living among them in secret. Jaehwan hoped he could meet at least one of them, if they were still alive. 

 

His usual route involved passing by an entertainment agency, called TRBL Music, and eating in a restaurant named Viva Polo before headng home because his guardians would still be at work by the time he got back. There he went, and he sat down to order the usual four-cheese ravioli. He had become a regular there, that he already knew the names of the servers, one of them, named Park Chanyeol, just so happened to be the son of the owner. 

 

Jaehwan ate quietly, looking around at the customers who were dining and glancing at what was on the tv. There were so many reports of disappearances lately, and people were starting to think that only one person or persons unknown were involved. Their last count made it up to 20, all of them adults between the ages of 25 to 40 years old. This partly contributed to the odd quietness that he felt was all around. 

 

After paying the bill, he was back on his way home, taking the bus for two more stops. It was a long commute home, and that, he knew very well. Jaehwan quietly got down, carrying his guitar case with his other hand as he pressed on. As he passed one block, he noticed a group of strange looking men looking at him. "Do you have change? Please spare us some change" One of them said. 

 

"I'm sorry, I don't" Jaehwan shook his head, and walked off, his steps a little faster, as he could tell that they were onto him. Another block down, and he had two more to go. His heart was pounding, and he was overcome with fear. They easily outnumbered him, and they could just as easily beat him up to a pulp before taking his money. 

 

In a few moments, the walking turned into running, and Jaehwan could hear them cackling as they chased him. He couldn't let go of anything as much as he wanted to, and without looking back, he ran into the alleyway in between two buildings. He hid beside the dumpster in the hopes of not being seen as he caught his breath. Jaehwan could hear them approaching this part of the street, and so he picked up his guitar case and slowly walked out, only to be grabbed by the collar by one of them. It was then he noticed that the rest of them were carrying weapons. 

 

One had a lead pipe, the other a crowbar, and the rest of them were carrying knives. Jaehwan noticed that they all had the same markings on their necks. 

 

"Look, I told you, I don't have any money left. Check my pockets, you'll see that I don't" Jaehwan babbled, as the man grabbing him by the collar slammed him against the wall. A few cracks were forming behind him, startling the man. 

 

"Whether or not you have money is not important, you'll have to come with us." They said. 

"No I'm not" Jaehwan groaned, dropping his guitar case on the ground. 

"You do realize what'll happen if you don't go with us, right?" The man said. 

Jaehwan's expression soon changed. "I do, but you don't realize what's going to happen if you do" and he kicked the man away, sending him crashing against the garbage cans. "That's what's going to happen" He flinched when one of them hit his head with the crowbar. Jaehwan grabbed his wrist and threw him all the way to the end, crashing into the dumpster. He dodged the blow with the lead pipe in time, and threw them off as well, leaving him facing the several others that had knives. He backed up further into the alley, quietly coming up with a way to get those knives out of their hands. 

"Super strong are you? What are you? A mutant like those kids last year?" One of them said. The men turned to each other. "This makes it even better." 

Jaehwan then grabbed their knife-bearing arms, squeezing them as tight as he could. The men screamed in pain, and were sent flying towards the dumpster, unconscious. He didn't have time to check if they were still breathing, he ran towards his backpack and his guitar case. That was what he was. Jaehwan was a mutant. As he slung his backpack over his shoulder, there was a teenage boy, wearing a pink hoodie and holding garbage bags. He looked like he had seen what had just went on. 

He was staring at Jaehwan, and in a moment, he ran away, carrying the garbage bags with him. Jaehwan couldn't let him tell anyone. By the time he reached the corner, the teenager was gone. He knelt down and touched the ground, and he could suddenly see where he went. He went inside the building, up on the third floor, dumping the bags into the garbage chute and rushing inside an apartment, number 5B. 

~ 

At TRBL Music, Kwon Hyuk was going over the lyrics for his upcoming track. He had been signed on to the agency for nearly a year, and yet he found himself looking back at his time at the record store. He remembered the day of the attack, at how his help was needed by Mirae, Chanyeol, and the others, and what happened after it. As much as he loved his music, he also loved using his powers openly in a situation like that. 

But that didn't seem to matter anymore. It was all quiet, and there was no opportunity that would come that he could. Hyuk felt great that he got to use his abilities for the good of everyone who weren't born with it. He let out a sigh, and closed his notebook. The remote control slid across the table and into his hand, and he turned the television in the studio on. 

It was another special report regarding the disappearances that have been happening lately. The news anchor was reminding everyone to be alert and to tell the authorities if they see any suspicious figures lurking around. A part of him wanted to take matters into his own hands with this problem going around the capital. If he could only train himself some more, he would be able to tap into his potential telepathic abilities. He needed help in that, but the one person he knew who shared a similar powerset as him was nowhere to be found. Luhan, one of the people in Mirae and Chanyeol's group. 

Hyuk didn't know if Luhan was still around the country. He actually didn't know if he survived the attack at all. He didn't know if the others did. He only knew Mirae did because he saw her that day, with dust from the debris of the Center all over her black suit, covered in goblin blood. She could never be completely injured. 

Even though he never really got to know most of them, Hyuk felt like he belonged there. He belonged with people like himself, ones born with abilities like him. 

The studio door opened and in came his friend and producer, Woo Jiho. Hyuk placed his finger on a button and blinked, turning the television off. He sat up and his friend looked at the progress on the computer. "I wonder what whoever is responsible for those disappearances is doing to those people," Jiho muttered as he sat down next to him. "I hope the police find them soon. It's getting scary out there." 

"Yeah it is," Hyuk agreed. "No one's safe from the kidnapper."

"It makes me wonder why they do it too. Why kidnap someone, and not ask for any ransom or something. If they were going to take someone against their will, they may as well get something else out of it." Jiho said. 

He shrugged. "I don't know why they do it either. I don't think it's a far off possibility that something that isn't human is the one behind that too, after what happened last year." 

Jiho nodded. "Yeah, that was something. I do wonder what happened to those, mutants, you call it? They saved the world." 

"That's something I'm wondering myself." As much as Hyuk trusted Jiho, he wasn't ready to tell him that he was a telekinetic. There were only a handful of people who knew and most of them seemed to have disappeared. "Well, like what the people on the news say, we just have to be careful." 

~

Chanyeol was cleaning the tables at Viva Polo. They were nearing closing time, and the rest of his colleagues were putting away all the dirty plates and the chefs were all cleaning up their stations at the kitchen. His father was still in his office, looking over how much money they made for the day. He sat down when he was done. It was the last table he had to clean and he was tired from going from table to table the whole day. 

He too, had noticed what was going on lately. The disappearances that were occurring. It started earlier in the year, just months after the attack on the city. Chanyeol didn't want to remember the outcome of that event. He turned the television back on, flipping through the channels to see if there was anything good at this time of the night. He glanced at the tealight on the table, and flames soon engulfed his finger, and he used the fire to light the candle. 

Using his powers only reminded him of what happened last year. He was sad that the Center was gone, he loved spending his days there, training to be a better mutant, one with more control over his powers instead of letting it control him. 

It took him a while to come to terms with the fact that there was no more team, no more mentor, no more people helping him train. It took him a while to come to terms with the fact that he had to do all of that on his own now. 

He did. Chanyeol spent weeks, trying to come up with ways for him to train. His pyrokinesis didn't exactly help him score a training area, and doing it on the rooftop of the restaurant was pretty much exposing himself. Unfortunately, he failed in getting one, and it led him to focusing on other things. If only he could do something good, save the world again, or at least a large number of people. 

"Hey you" His sister Yura suddenly appeared, having gotten off work. "All done? Where's dad?" She asked, sitting next to him and looking up at the television. 

Chanyeol pointed to the office. "In there. I'm just waiting for him to finish so we could go home together. I want to see my dog already." He said. 

"I'm sure Toben is doing what dogs usually do when their owners are away," she assured her little brother. "eat, sleep, and probably make a mess somewhere in the house." She then noticed how wistful he was looking. "You okay?" 

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine," he sat up. "I just miss working at the Center, that's all. It's been a year since I got laid off there, and now, it's making me wonder what happened to the place, what happened to everyone I worked with, really." 

Yura smiled apologetically. "I know it can be hard having to leave a job that you like. But hey, you're here, closer to us, at least to mom and dad anyway, and you still have a place to come home to." She assured him. 

Chanyeol just smiled at his older sister. "Thanks. I do have those things." He said quietly, while looking down at his hands. If only he could do something with his powers again. He looked back up at the television, in which a baseball game was on. He wondered where everyone else was, and all the more, if they were all still alive. 

~ 

Meanwhile, Mirae waited for her colleague, Johnny to come out of the record store. It was officially closing time, and she couldn't wait to grab some dinner. "You've worked hard everyone" She said to her fellow employees. Johnny went ahead to help her pull down the metal roll-up shutters over the store and locking everything into place. Her foster parents owned and built the store, passing management duties over to her while they took their time to relax. 

It was just another day for her. Another successful day in terms of sales, and it brought them one step closer to expanding to different areas in the city. She waved everyone goodbye, watching some of them stand on a bus stop and waiting for the bus to arrive, while others, including Johnny walked home in another direction. 

It was another day of her remembering the time when it was only her and Hyuk working in there. They served as the clerks until she left to work at the Center, to become one of the people who saved the world. After everything happened, it was when Hyuk decided to leave and pursue his music career. What happened probably reminded him to focus on the present, on what he wanted to do and how much he wanted to do it. 

As soon as her colleagues had gotten on the bus, she went on her way towards the building next to the store. Mirae suddenly paused when she noticed the shape of the dumpster in the alley. It looked like it had been squeezed by a giant from how dented it was. "What the..." She took out her phone, and saw how many messages Jihoon had left her, asking her to come home quickly. 

Without another thought, she went into the building and up to her floor, to the apartment she shared with her friend Jihoon, whom she already treated as an adoptive brother. As she came in, he was seated on the edge of the couch, watching cartoons. "Hey, I'm home, what's all these messages for?" She asked, placing her bag on the side and taking off her shoes. 

Jihoon went up to her. "Noona, I saw something today" He said, following her into the kitchen. He already made them a big pot of instant noodles for dinner."I saw someone with powers, like you" He said. 

Mirae paused. "What do you mean? It's probably just some kid with a flashlight or something, or those laser pointer thingies." She said, ladling some noodles into a bowl, and Jihoon did the same after her. 

"No, no, it's not that! I'm serious, someone was in the alley between this building and the store. He seems like a student too, and he threw off a man three times his size with just one kick!" Jihoon said. 

"It is possible to do something like that. Jihoon, there are hardly any other people like me. I don't think there would be others" Mirae shook her head, pouring them glasses of water as they started eating on the kitchen counter. 

"It takes incredible superhuman strength to send them flying into the dumpster with one kick, noona." Jihoon said, firmly this time, and Mirae could now tell that he was serious. She did notice how dented it was. Her reaction only prompted Jihoon to explain some more. "He basically just threw everyone off with one hand. He hardly needed to do much. He barely flinched when one of them hit his head with a crowbar." He explained. 

Mirae put her spoon down and raised a brow. "What happened after that?" 

Jihoon looked down, a little embarrassed as he ate. "I just ran for it. I decided to dump the garbage into the chute. Fortunately, the repairman unclogged the chute just in time." He replied. "But it surprised the hell out of me." 

There was suddenly a knock on the door. Mirae and Jihoon exchanged looks and put their spoons down, taking sips of water before they could go over to answer it. "What if it's those kidnappers on the news?" He whispered as they walked closer to the door. 

"Then hide in the bedroom. I'll take care of them," Mirae's eyes began to glow and so did her fingertips. She reached into her bag for a metal object the size of a lead pipe that muggers would carry around. Pressing a button, the object extended into a staff. "Go, go hide!" She whispered to him, and he rushed over to hide on the other side of the couch. 

She went up to the door, and looked through the peephole. The glow in her eyes and fingertips disappeared, but she still held onto her staff as she opened the door. Jihoon suddenly stood up and pointed at him. "That's him. He's the one who fought those guys off" He pointed out, and Mirae put a finger to her lips to shush him. 

She turned back to the guy, who looked just as shocked at the sight of her. Behind the door, Mirae retracted her staff. "Can I help you?" She said. 

"Uh, uh, hello, I'm Kim Jaehwan," He held his hand out for her to shake and she did so. "You-You, I know you. You're one of those people who saved the city last year. In the attack?" He explained. "And in the train station too, you were one of them" 

"Shh!" Mirae pulled him inside and closed the door. Jaehwan still looked starstruck. "So, what are you doing here?" 

Jaehwan instead turned to Jihoon. "I know you saw me, I just wanted to come and ask that you don't tell anyone. Especially my parents and my guardians." He explained. "If they found out- They might kill me." 

"Kill you for having powers?" Mirae raised a brow. "That's part of who you are, Jaehwan, I don't think they'll have any other choice but to accept it." 

"Well no, it's not that. They'll kill me if they found out I got into a fight." Jaehwan said. "I have to keep a clean record for graduation." He added. He looked back at Mirae again, and his starstruck expression returned. "Seeing you guys in action, just changed my life, you know? Last year?" He said quietly. 

"It changed everyone else's too. Back to the topic at hand, how did you know where we live?" Mirae asked. "Did you follow Jihoon when he saw you?" She said. 

Jaehwan shook his head right away. "I-I-I uh, it's a little complicated to explain." He said.   
"Try me." 

"You might want to sit down for this." He said, gesturing to the couch. The three of them sat down, putting Jaehwan in the middle. "I-I uh, I have tracking abilities. I didn't follow Jihoon up here. I just have heightened senses. I can hear people miles away, I can see where they've been just by touching the ground they stepped on. In his case," He tilted his head towards Jihoon. "It was like that." 

 

"Plus you have super strength, right?" Jihoon suddenly asked. 

 

Jaehwan nodded. "I guess I do. I could have ripped their arms out if I wanted to, but I didn't want to come home all bloody." He replied. He looked at Mirae. "What happened to the rest of them? Where did they go?" 

 

Mirae shook her head. "I don't know. I'm wondering about that myself. What happened last year was much more than what everyone knows and saw." She explained. "I'll just save that for another time. But, shouldn't you be at home now? Your guardians must be worried. Plus, there's that kidnapper on the loose. We could call you a cab or something." She offered, but Jaehwan waved a hand dismissively. 

 

~

At the same time, Hyuk was finally on his way home. He bid Jiho and the rest of his colleagues goodbye, and headed out the doors of the building to take the bus home. It was a lot later than he usually got out. It was the result of a very productive day despite thoughts of the disappearances that were on the news. There were hardly any people around, and he figured it was because of the news reports. 

 

As he was approaching a bus stop, he was confronted by a large man with a marking on his neck. He had a wound on the side of his head, some dried blood having stuck on the side of his face. "Where are you off to, guy?" The man growled, blocking him from walking any further. "You are needed someplace." 

 

"Excuse me?" Hyuk asked. He could tell this man meant trouble. He ignored the man's request and walked the other way, only to be blocked by him again. "If you know what's good for you, you're going to let me pass." He said. 

 

"Can't do that, bub." The man cracked his knuckles in front of him. 

 

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Hyuk held up his hand in front of the man, then twisted it into a claw. The man started crying out in pain, as his bones started cracking and his limbs started twisting. The more Hyuk turned his hand, the more twisted he became, until he turned into what looked like a ball full of limbs and broken bones. With another gesture, he sent the man flying into a dumpster and closing the lid on him. 

 

Before anyone was around to take a better look at him, Hyuk ran towards the bus stop as fast as he could. He got on the bus just in time and sat down at the back, thinking about what just happened, how he just engaged in a fight like that. The man sounded like he was the one behind the disappearances being reported on the news. 

He couldn't stop thinking about it, now more than before. Something was not right lately, and he had a strong feeling that the attack on the city was only the beginning of something bigger to come. 

Hyuk got down after a few stops, and went on his way towards the building where Mirae lived. He needed to talk to someone about this, what he just experienced. Mirae was the only one who could probably believe him right now.


	2. Two

Hyuk ran as fast as he could. He had to tell Mirae what happened. He didn’t bother to check if anyone saw what he did. He had to do what he could to defend himself. The man who tried to attack him must have been responsible for the disappearances lately. The marking on his neck certainly proved that he was part of a group. Hyuk needed to figure out who he was, who he was associated to, and why he came after him. He skidded to a halt when he saw the already closed up record store. 

If the store was already closed, that only meant she was home. Hyuk looked up at the building next to it. He could only hope she was awake, or at least around, and he sprinted up the stairs to their floor. 

~

“You know, I first realized my powers when I was 12,” Jaehwan began, over a cup of hot chocolate. Jihoon leaned on the table, yawning as he listened while Mirae piled on so many marshmallows on all their mugs. “I couldn’t believe it at first, with what I could hear and suddenly see. I thought I was going crazy” He explained, taking a sip of his hot chocolate and chewing on the marshmallows. 

“Jihoon, why don’t you go to bed? You have classes later” Mirae patted his back. 

“Alright, I will. Goodnight, noona, goodnight, uh, Jaehwan” Jihoon yawned and padded towards his room and closed the door. 

Mirae turned back to Jaehwan, who was downing the drink. “So, about what happened to you earlier, did you notice anything weird?” She asked. 

Jaehwan put his mug down, leaving a chocolate mustache on his upper lip. “Other than them looking like punks at a rock concert, they had this strange marking on their necks. Like a sun, except the rays were all pointing downwards.” He explained. 

“You mean like they’re from some gang or something?” She asked. 

“Yeah. They also kept saying something about how I had to go with them. Do you think it could be related to the disappearances?” Jaehwan asked. 

She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. “Anything could happen. I doubt you called the police?” She glanced at him, and he shook his head. 

Jaehwan took another sip and suddenly paused, looking at the door. He could see someone on their way over here, he could see someone out of breath. 

Mirae noticed his expression. “What? What is it?” 

Jaehwan didn’t answer. He was trying to see who was there. “A man, there’s a man outside, he’s out of breath, like he ran a long way,” he said quietly. “He’s coming here.” 

As he had expected, someone was knocking at the door, and they sounded rattled. Mirae put her mug down. “Stay where you are, I’ll get the door.” She said, getting up and walking towards it. “Who is it?” She called out. 

“It’s me, Hyuk, your friend, remember? Open up” He said, still knocking on the door, nearly falling over towards Mirae when she opened it. Jaehwan stood up from the dining area to peek at what was happening. 

Mirae sighed, gently pushing Hyuk back up straight. “This isn’t the greeting I had in mind, but okay.” She said. “What are you doing here? You look like you’ve seen something.” Hyuk closed the door behind him and pulled her into the kitchen, stopping when he saw Jaehwan. He glanced at her and she took it as a signal to explain. “Okay, this is Kim Jaehwan, he’s also like us.” She said. 

Hyuk raised a brow. “For real?” 

“Yeah. Nice to meet you” and they shook hands. “What do you do?” Jaehwan asked, somewhat a little excited to meet another mutant like himself. 

“I am telekinetic. I can move things with my mind.” Hyuk answered, sitting down while Mirae brought him another mug of hot chocolate and sliding the container of marshmallows towards him. 

Jaehwan looked amazed. “Wow, what kind of things do you get to move with your mind?” He asked, and he looked even more amazed when his own mug was floating in front of him. 

“All kinds of things.” Hyuk replied before taking a sip. “But I also have some telepathic ability, I still need to work on it.” He said. 

“Wow! That is amazing, that is so cool” Jaehwan took the floating mug and finished his drink. “I’m so glad I stopped by here, if I didn’t then I wouldn’t have met both of you.” 

Mirae and Hyuk turned to each other. “You’ve never met anyone else with powers, have you?” Hyuk asked, and Jaehwan shook his head. “That explains it. There aren’t a lot of us. Anymore, at least.” 

“I figured, there are about over a dozen of us, right? At least here in the country?” Jaehwan asked. 

“As of now, we don’t know. If you remember what happened after the attack, then you’d probably get an idea of where the others might be.” Mirae said quietly. “We sort of dissolved after that. We didn’t have our meeting place anymore, we lost our mentors, we lost each other,” she looked down into her drink. “Hyuk is still here because he saw me that day.” 

Hyuk leaned on the table, plopping one marshmallow after another in his drink. He looked at Jaehwan. “So, how did you meet Mirae? Or how did she know about you?” He asked. 

“I uh, ran into some people who tried to take me and Jihoon saw me using my powers and I went up here to ask him not to tell and I saw her” Jaehwan explained. He suddenly noticed the change in Hyuk’s expression. “What?” 

Hyuk glanced at both of them. “I ran into some people too. Well, one big guy, he had a marking on his neck-” 

“So did the people I ran into earlier!” Jaehwan said, nearly raising his voice. 

Mirae looked down at her mug. “Did they ask you to come with them too?” She said. 

“Yeah, they did. I think they might be the ones behind the disappearances,” Hyuk sat back. Looking at the two of them, he suddenly had an idea. “I think we should look into this ourselves. Try and purposely run into them or something, although I don’t know about the big guy, I kinda turned him into a pretzel and dumped him in the dumpster…” 

Jaehwan looked so amazed. “This is so exciting, meeting and talking to people,” he sighed happily. “Who are just like me. Can we hang out more? I’m graduating soon, and I could use some people like me that I can turn to, or do cool things with.” 

Hyuk and Mirae chuckled. “Of course you can, Jaehwan. I think we need to band together more than ever knowing what’s going on.” She patted his shoulder. 

“So, are we investigating this?” Hyuk asked them. 

“I’m up for it” Jaehwan nodded. 

They turned to Mirae, who sat back. “I don’t know, it’s going to be dangerous, and I have Jihoon to take care of. I don’t want him getting hurt or affected.” She said. 

Hyuk tilted his head. “Since when has that stopped you from doing what you did last year? Come on, I saw you take down a goblin from the jewelry shop, all the while you had Miran and Changseok to protect, even me.” He said. 

“It’s because Jihoon is all I have left.” Mirae explained. “Miran and Changseok decided to open up another store in Busan, so they’re there now, while I’m here.” She said. 

“If they’re over there, then you know they’re safe” Hyuk said. 

“I know, but I’m talking about Jihoon here,” Mirae pointed out. “Jihoon is here, living with me, I don’t want him to get hurt.” 

“We’ll keep him safe, just like the rest of us will keep our loved ones safe” Hyuk assured her. “From the three of us, you’re the only one who can fight, and neither of us have the same power set as you do, Mirae. Come on.” He reached for her hand. 

It was Jaehwan’s turn to do some encouraging. “Don’t you miss those days last year? Where you could kick some serious ass? I guess this is a chance to do it again.” He said. 

Mirae just shrugged. “I-I don’t know. Can I think about it?” She glanced at both of them. “I’ll let you guys know in the morning, or, hours from now. I just need to sleep on it, and I need to put together Jihoon’s lunch for school later, unless you two want to crash here since it’s late.” She looked at the clock. 

Jaehwan and Hyuk got up, bringing their mugs to the sink and so did Mirae, who started washing them. “Let me know, alright?” Hyuk patted her shoulder. “You have my number.” 

The two men left the apartment, Hyuk remembering to lock the door behind him. When Mirae was done, she quietly cleaned up the sink and took out some containers. Jaehwan was right. She did miss being able to use her powers as freely as she did back then. But it was different now since that event. 

~ 

Jaehwan had arrived home an hour later, to see that his guardians, Park Bom and her husband Lee Dongwook, were seated at the dining room, sharing a bowl of ice cream. He knew they would nag at him for coming back so late, so he crept towards the stairs. 

“Kim Jaehwan!” He heard Bom call out. “Why are you out so late? Do you know what time it is?” 

Jaehwan trudged towards the dining room, and sat down as Dongwook handed him a spoon. “I was out meeting some friends, but I’m back now, aren’t I?” He said, helping himself to a spoonful of ice cream. “What flavor is this?” 

“Chocolate chip. Your favorite” Dongwook replied, watching him eat. “Where did you go off to anyway? It’s especially dangerous to be outside at this time” He nudged him. 

“I know. I met up with a friend of mine, Mirae and her uh, boyfriend, Hyuk and her brother Jihoon” Jaehwan replied. “We were just talking about random stuff, like those disappearances that have been going on.” 

Bom raised a brow at what he said. “What about Doyoung? Didn’t he join you guys?” She asked. 

Jaehwan shook his head. “No, he didn’t, It’s too late and he’s got an early class later. I don’t.” He said. 

“Mirae? Hyuk? Jihoon? It’s the first time I’ve heard about those names. How long have you four been friends?” Dongwook asked. 

“We uh, we’re in the same organization. Mirae and Hyuk are seniors like me.” Jaehwan lied. He wanted to step on his own foot for doing so. He couldn’t tell them what really went on. “Mirae’s taking her masters too. Jihoon’s in high school, but he’s taking his college entrance exams next week.” He remembered the conversations they were having before Hyuk came in. 

As he was about to get another spoonful, Bom grabbed his wrist and pushed up his sleeve. He had a gash on his arm. “Aigoo, look at you! You got yourself hurt!” Her brows furrowed at him. “Did they get you into a fight?!” 

Jaehwan pulled his arm back while quickly eating the spoonful. “Uh, I fell over on a drum kit, my arm hit the cymbals.” He was quick to explain. 

“You should be more careful! Get that cleaned up or something. At least you didn’t bleed as much” She said. “Ehey, Jaehwan, getting yourself scratched up again. Do you have classes later?” 

Jaehwan shook his head. “No, but I thought I’d do some rehearsing since the concert is coming up.” He said. He got up, suddenly remembering what he was planning to do upon arriving home. “I should get ready for bed now. Good night.” He said, quickly climbing up the stairs and into his room. 

He pondered over his encounter with Mirae, Hyuk, and Jihoon as he got ready, cleaning up his wound as he did so. Seeing as neither Bom nor Dongwook would be coming in to check on him, he went to his computer to look up the disappearances. He took pride in being able to search things easily, even online. It was one of the perks of having abilities like his. 

Jaehwan stopped upon seeing a match for the symbol he remembered. It matched a symbol for a group called the Utopians. He learned that it was a secret organization, often called a myth, and consisted of influential figures whose identities remained unknown. They referred to each other by names of the twelve titans in Greek Mythology. He grabbed a pad of paper and a pen and took down everything else he found. 

Meanwhile, Hyuk had arrived at his building. It was a long night, and he continued to ponder on what he had experienced. There must be a good reason why everything that is happening is happening. It had been a year since the attack, and he had a strange feeling that it had only just begun. That things had only just begun. There was clearly something bigger at hand. It wasn’t just some serial killer on the loose or something or someone similar. Hyuk was determined to get to the bottom of this. 

When he arrived at his door, what he saw only made him more motivated to find answers. There was a piece of yellowing paper tacked onto his door. The paper had the symbol he saw painted in red, and from what Hyuk could tell, it was in blood. He took it down and looked at the back in case there was a message, and there was. 

“You’ll be sorry.” 

Hyuk felt a chill down his spine at the message. Whoever sent this clearly wasn’t playing around. He now felt like he had a target on his back. 

~ 

Hours later in the morning, Jihoon had woken up, mechanically getting ready for school. He stepped out to see Mirae asleep on the couch. Her computer was on her lap, as well as a notebook and a pen. She had fallen asleep while studying again, he figured, as he quietly put the laptop and the notebook on the table, carefully placing the blanket over her to tuck her in. 

Jihoon looked over at the dining area. There on the table, was his lunch, all packed and ready for him to take. Mirae may have made him lunch, but he figured she was too exhausted to make breakfast, which was why the place setting for him only had a bowl, a spoon, and the box of cereal. 

He sat down to eat, looking out at the window. The sun was almost up, but he still had some time to kill since his school was nearby. Jihoon glanced over at Mirae, who had turned to the side, and was snoring softly. 

Mirae gave Jihoon the one bedroom she had in the apartment when they met again after a long time. She took him in after the attack and practically raised him ever since. She was like a sister to him, as he was like a brother to her. They were fiercely protective of each other. She was partly why he decided to take up boxing lessons during his summer vacation. 

Christmas was nearing soon, Jihoon suddenly thought as he ate, halfway through his bowl of cereal. He still had to get her a present. 

There was suddenly a knock on the door and Mirae sat up. Jihoon got up from his seat as well. She sleepily trudged towards the door to answer it, sighing when she saw Jaehwan and Hyuk standing behind it. “Okay, you two again” She said sleepily, heading back to the couch to put the blanket back on its place. 

“Is this a bad time?” Jaehwan asked, looking at her, and then at Jihoon, who looked surprised to see them. 

“You think? It’s so early, Jaehwan. The store doesn’t open for another few hours.” Mirae yawned and slumped down on the couch. 

“It’s open now. I picked the lock and Johnny opened up the store. I told him you were tired so I asked him to take charge while you’re resting” Hyuk said. 

“It’s true, I saw him use his powers” Jaehwan suddenly pointed out. “Hey wait a minute, how do you know her employees?” He asked, looking at Hyuk. 

“We used to work together in the store before he went off to pursue his music career,” Mirae explained, trying to keep her eyes open. Jihoon was quick to quietly make her some coffee. “He won a singing contest, you know” She yawned, glancing at the telekinetic, while he just smiled and seated himself next to her on the couch. Jaehwan did the same, sitting next to Hyuk. 

“So, did you get to think about what we were planning to do?” Hyuk asked her. Jaehwan looked hopeful. 

“Hmm, I have,” Mirae nodded, standing up to get the mug of coffee from Jihoon while he washed his used dishes. “I think about it, then I wind up thinking about the risks to this. Our loved ones could get in the way, Hyuk, you have your job to think about. Are you willing to put your music career on hold for this?” She said after taking a few sips. “What about you?” She looked at Jaehwan. “You’re graduating soon. You have your future to think about. This isn’t exactly going to pay us very well.” 

“Or at all,” Hyuk added. “I know you’re trying to be realistic, but hey, I’ve thought about it. Whatever is the outcome, I think we should do this for a living.” He proposed. 

That made Mirae and Jaehwan raise a brow at him. “Say what?” They both said. 

“Okay, hear me out on this,” Hyuk was on the edge of the seat now. “I’m not saying we do this full time. But you know, part time. We could be like mercenaries or something. Mutants for hire.” He said. “It’s a way for us to make some money, and we should have a direct line to the police station.” 

Jaehwan and Mirae nodded. “Maybe more like private investigators,” He said. “Mercenaries just sounds illegal” He cringed at the thought. 

“Where I came from wasn’t exactly legal either. Ilsan Youth Hostel was the legal front.” Mirae recalled. “Center for Paranormal Research was more of a secret.” She added, and Jaehwan looked amazed. 

“There is also another problem though,” Jaehwan suddenly said. The two of them turned to him. “How do we associate ourselves with the police? Unless we have connections, which I don’t think we have” He said. 

A moment of silence ensued as they tried to figure out that part. It wasn’t long before Jaehwan took the notebook he brought with him and flipped through the pages. “I was looking up the markings from the guy and I found something,” he said. 

“And?” 

“Apparently, it’s from some sort of cult, called the Utopians,” Jaehwan explained, looking through his notes. “They’re usually made up of twelve members, the members of which are known to be influential people…” he muttered. 

“At least that narrows it down” Mirae said. She then noticed that Hyuk looked a little shaken. “What’s wrong?” 

“I just remembered,” Hyuk sighed, taking out the note from his pocket. “When I got home last night, I saw this tacked up on my door. It’s blood.” He showed them the note, even to Jihoon, who was already peering over their heads. Mirae, who had already noticed the younger boy, pointed to some money peeking out of his blazer pocket. Jihoon only smiled and bowed to the rest of them before leaving. 

Jaehwan felt chills down his spine and the hairs on his arms stand on end. “Someone’s onto you, at least something is” He looked at the telekinetic. 

Hyuk left the note on the coffee table. He glanced back at Jaehwan. “You said they sounded interested once they found out what you were right?” He asked. Jaehwan nodded. “It seems like either the guy I dumped in the dumpster is still alive, or someone else is doing the job of trying to take us in.” 

Mirae put her mug down. “Now that you’ve pretty much placed a target on your back, what are you planning to do now?” 

Hyuk bit his lip then gave her a sheepish look. “I was thinking if I could crash here for a bit. I don’t think they know what you are. But, they might come after Jaehwan, now that they’ve tried to take him” 

That was enough to alarm the tracker. “What?! No way, I hope not. I can’t leave my uncle if they come after me!” Jaehwan slouched, already overcome with worry. “They’d worry and if they worry then I’d worry and-” 

“Okay, calm down, calm down,” Mirae patted him on the shoulder. “Before you panic, all whoever’s behind this only knows about Hyuk, not you just yet. They probably just thought you work out a lot for now.” and Hyuk agreed. 

Jaehwan sighed. “Well, I just hope they don’t, because I’m going to seriously kick whoever’s ass is responsible for this…” He grumbled. 

Mirae stood up. “Now that we’ve settled on that, who wants some coffee?” 

~ 

Chanyeol had arrived at the restaurant early, opening the doors as he started to prepare to open up. He still couldn’t stop thinking about what was constantly on the news lately. People were disappearing left and right, and even the police were stumped. If only he could do something, anything, to help put an end to this. 

It made him remember of the attack last year. It made him remember the people he was with. It made him remember what came out of it, and it made him remember wondering who was still around, or still alive for that matter. Chanyeol continued to think about that as he got ready, slipping on his apron and putting down the chairs. 

It had been quite a while since he last used his powers. The most he could use them was for smaller things, like put some power back on the stove, or caramelize the sugar on the creme brulees at the last minute, or even light the tealights on the tables. No one really noticed, nor even knew. His family knew, but as for everyone else, they didn’t. Chanyeol was fixing the menus and taking out bags of ice to put in the freezer and other compartments that they needed it in. All the pitchers have to be filled, he thought. 

He was putting some ice in the vacuum flasks when his colleague, sous chef Moon Taeil came in. “You’re here early. Are you trying to get a raise from your mom?” He teased, heading into the back room to get ready. 

“Hardly. I just couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking about those disappearances. No progress, no anything.” He said. 

Taeil raised a brow at his colleague when he came back out. “What makes you so particularly concerned? You should feel lucky” He said, fixing his hair before covering it up with a hairnet. 

Chanyeol sighed and placed the washed utensils on each table. “I just feel like I could do something about it, that’s all. I mean, what happened last year just made me realize that I could do my part or something, like a model citizen…” He brought all the vacuum flasks in the kitchen to fill them up with the water, while Taeil did the same with the remaining pitchers. 

“Model citizen?” Taeil looked so confused. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I’ve always been like this. I used to volunteer at orphanages before I started working here” Chanyeol replied, turning on the television once he was done. He sat down on one of the chairs as they waited for the rest of their colleagues to show up. He went to the news channel, and saw that no other updates were being given by the police. 

“Citizens are advised to be extra careful when going out. Establishments are now being asked to close early, schools are also advised for the meantime to end classes early as well in light of the many disappearances that have been occurring. Although it seems impossible for many places to follow this advice, the president strongly urges that the local authorities stay on high alert for the kidnappers.” The news anchor said. 

“You think your mom would close early?” Taeil called out from the kitchen. 

Chanyeol shrugged. “I don’t know. She’d probably just close late as usual if anything” he said. “Dad would do the same at his live cafe too.” 

To his surprise later on that day, his mom did close a little early, but still in the same timeframe. Chanyeol stepped out of the restaurant and bid all his colleagues goodbye before getting into his car. He couldn’t stop thinking about the news that morning. This really made him want to do something about it. An idea soon formed in his head, an idea that might seem a long way off, but it made Chanyeol think about one big possibility; What if it was possible to bring the gang back together again? 

As he drove, he thought about who he had a feeling was still alive. Would Yifan be around? Would Yixing? He thought, turning a corner. He didn’t remember seeing them anymore after they managed to save the city and the world last year. Would Sehun still be alive? Would Jongdae, would Baekhyun, would the two of them still be around? Or, he hated to think it, would they still be alive? The questions lingered in his mind as he drove down a familiar path. He drove on and on and on until he got closer to a site that was just a mountain full of dirt and debris. 

It was the center, or at least what used to be the center. The trees that used to line the driveway were nonexistent or were crushed under the weight of so many cement debris from the building. The sign that said “Ilsan Youth Hostel” was reduced to shards of plastic and glass. Hardly anything was intact anymore. 

Chanyeol got out of his car and went towards the rubble, feeling wistful the more he stepped on the rocks to go within what used to be the gated estate. He could see from where he was that the underground facilities were now buried under the dirt, including the big training room he used to use, simulating the kind of missions that they could have gone on had it not been destroyed. The suits they wore were all tattered at the end of it, so Chanyeol discarded his someplace. The cars, the little weapons they used, and perhaps the most memorable for him, the cafeteria, library, and lounging spaces were all gone, all buried under it all. 

He remembered his colleagues, he remembered their mentors, he remembered the adventures, even though they weren’t so big. Chanyeol could only wish to have that back. 

“Coming here too, huh?” said a voice. 

He flinched a little in surprise, but as he took a quick second to compose himself again, he realized that it sounded very familiar. Chanyeol turned around. It was Junhong, standing behind him, no longer wearing his white lab coat but business attire. “Junhong? Is that you?” He couldn’t believe it. 

“The one and only” Junhong said, and Chanyeol went up to him to give him a hug, pulling away after a moment. 

“How did you-you survived” the fire-bender was at a loss for words. 

Junhong shrugged. “I got out just in time. I couldn’t say the same for the others.” He looked down at the thought. “How did you survive?” 

“Same reason as you, probably” He said. “I couldn’t find the rest” 

“Then it’s a good thing I found you after all. You see those disappearances from the news?” Junhong asked. 

Chanyeol nodded. “I was actually thinking of doing some snooping around of my own” He said. 

Junhong nodded. “I did some snooping around too. Did you notice that this all started happening months after the attack last year?” He asked, and Chanyeol nodded. “I don’t want to sound cheesy but, it seems that last year was just the beginning.” 

Chanyeol felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end. “The beginning?” 

“The beginning. I think we should discuss this further in a more private space. Where are you headed?” Junhong asked. 

“Well, I actually thought I’d come look for people, people who might still be alive, I don’t know” he shrugged. 

“Good start. I’ll come with you.” 

~ 

Chanyeol drove back into the city. “So, do you know anyone who might still be around?” He asked, stopping at a red light. “This made me realize that I’ve spent a few years with the others without asking where they live or what their contact numbers are” He said quietly. “Or even an email address…” 

Junhong nodded. “Yeah, I’d remember where everyone lives as you all had files but, I’m not sure if we could look for it under the rubble.” He said. As the light turned green, Chanyeol started driving again. “What happened to you? After what happened last year?” 

“I went back home, worked for my dad’s restaurant. Viva Polo. You should come by.” Chanyeol said. “All that time, I’ve never invited them, not even once.” 

“Why do you sound like you’re blaming yourself?” 

Chanyeol shook his head. “No, I just kinda failed at forming a friendship, a real friendship with everyone there. It feels like going to work, you know? You don’t need to talk to people unless it’s about work.” 

“I know what you mean,” Junhong sighed, looking out the window. As they reached a red light, he suddenly sat up, having remembered something. “Mirae” he said quietly. 

Chanyeol heard him. “Mirae? What about Mirae?” He asked, and it took one look from Junhong to make him realize what he meant. He saw where she lived, he knew where she lived, and he hoped that she was still living there. “Mirae. Fingers crossed that she’s there and that she still has her powers or something. If we’re going to try and do this, I need her” he said, making a u-turn. 

They had arrived at the store, and saw so many girls and men hauling off boxes of albums that just hit the shelves. One of the shelves that had the new arrivals were quickly emptied out, but there were only five or six people who were buying them. “The store got bigger” Junhong observed. It made him a little relieved that this was doing well. 

The two of them looked around, trying to blend in, despite the glances of some of the employees who were in that day. Chanyeol was just as relieved, and the more he hoped that Mirae would be there. After a few minutes, they decided to ask. “Hello,” Chanyeol began. “I’m looking for a Lee Mirae. Would you know where she is?” He asked. 

“Mirae? Oh yeah! Manager Lee. She just stepped out for lunch, but I think she’ll be back in a few minutes,” the clerk replied. “May I know who’s looking for her?” He asked. 

“Uh, Park Chanyeol and Choi Junhong. We’re old friends of hers” The fire-bender replied. They were feeling more relieved than ever. “We’ll just come back after an hour. Junhong, let’s go eat something first.” He said, nudging the taller male to come with him. 

They stepped out of the store and looked around until they settled for the restaurant near the bus stop. A moment later, they tucked in to eat, and in between bites of rice, Chanyeol sat up. “Were you able to save your tech? The suits or weapons or something?” He asked. He felt like he kind of knew the answer, but he still wondered if Junhong was able to. 

He shook his head. “We’ll need a bulldozer to get it. It’s all down there at the Center, or what’s left of it. But, I managed to put together a computer. Had to steal some parts, but I was able to fiddle around with the software. It now has access to police files, the cloud storage I made for our non-human database, and Naver” he said. 

Chanyeol was impressed. “If only we all stuck together, we could at least set up our own headquarters.” 

Junhong shrugged. “I don’t know. Given the way it turned out, I’m surprised I ran into you in the first place. We all have our regrets” he said. “You were all frustrated, a little annoyed at each other. I mean, I’d be annoyed at Daehyun too after seeing him almost the whole day and the night” he said, sighing at the thought. 

An hour later, they stepped out of the restaurant. “Thanks for paying” Chanyeol said, closing the door behind them as they went to the pedestrian lane. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I had some of that soup” He looked at Junhong, and noticed that he had a surprised expression on his face. “What? What is it?” Chanyeol followed where Junhong was looking at. 

Mirae was walking down the street. She was with Hyuk, and another guy. They were entering the back entrance of the store, where Chanyeol remembered they went to before. Junhong eyed the traffic lights, and when the lights turned green and they were allowed to cross, he pulled Chanyeol along. 

~ 

The three of them entered the back area. “So, lunch. What are we having delivered?” Hyuk asked, going to the taped up flyers of restaurant deliveries by the fridge. Jaehwan scanned the place as he tried to get familiar with everything. “You should probably sit down,” he glanced at the tracker. “And calm down” he added, having heard what he was thinking. 

“So it’s just Mirae and Jihoon, huh?” Jaehwan asked, noticing the small flight of stairs in the corner. 

“Yeah, just the two of them now since her adoptive parents moved to Busan,” Hyuk replied, calling up a place that delivered chicken. 

“What about you? Where are your parents?” Jaehwan asked the telepath. 

Hyuk paused in between ordering. “They’re overseas. It’s just me here. I thought I’d pursue a music career here instead of making it over there.” he said, going back to ordering. After a moment, he hung up. 

“How did you learn about your powers?” 

“Same age as you when you learned about yours,” he answered, seating himself on the chair. “I thought I was seeing things, and until recently, I thought I was hearing things. It took a few years for me to realize that what was going on was actually real, so I kind of practiced on my own whenever I’d come home from school” Hyuk explained. 

“So, you and Mirae both worked at the Center?” Jaehwan asked. 

Hyuk shook his head. “I never told anyone that I was a telepath and telekinetic, so I never worked there. I only helped out towards the end, when one of Mirae’s colleagues as well as herself, were having nightmares that triggered their powers.” He recalled. 

Jaehwan remained fascinated, and even though he didn’t know them long, he was feeling more and more comfortable with them. “Wow, so you’ve seen her powers?” 

“Of course I have. I’ve seen her in action using them,” Hyuk laughed. “She can probably kick your ass if you let her” 

Mirae returned from the store, handing Johnny the thick pad of paper that was their invoices. “So, what did I miss?” she asked, sitting down next to Jaehwan on the small couch. 

“This guy was asking about us” Hyuk answered with a grin. “I got us some chicken for lunch, since you shoved us out of your place” he said, and she nodded. 

Jaehwan chuckled and sat back, glancing at her. He suddenly stared at the door. He could hear something, making Hyuk and Mirae stare at him. “Two guys are coming over here, they keep mentioning your names” he said to them. 

That made Hyuk look at the door as well, his telepathic abilities starting to come out. “Chanyeol, and Junhong” he muttered, surprising Mirae. “I can feel them” 

There was a knock on the door, surprising all three of them this time. Mirae stood up, glancing at the two men before opening the door. As they had expected, it was them, and they were out of breath and looking just as shocked to see her. Hyuk and Jaehwan stood up when they enveloped her into a big hug, the telekinetic closing the door behind them right away before greeting them as well. 

“Don’t worry, he’s just like us” Mirae was quick to tell them about Jaehwan, as they started to exchange introductions. “What brings you guys to this part of town?” She kind of knew what they would say, but she still wanted to ask. 

Hyuk knew. “You’re here about the disappearances too, huh?” He asked. 

“Y-yeah, how did you know?” Chanyeol asked. 

“He has developed a telepathic ability” Mirae answered on his behalf. “Jaehwan on the other hand, has very enhanced senses and super stamina and strength. He can track people down for miles” she explained, knowing what they were going to ask anyway. 

“Fascinating” Junhong looked impressed, and the two of them sat down. “Well, now that introductions are made and some catching up has been done, I think I should explain things” he said, sitting up. 

“We kind of know who is responsible for the disappearances. It’s a cult called the Utopians.” Hyuk was quick to say. “Jaehwan did some research last night. They also tried to take him and myself last night too” he finished. 

The two men looked surprised. “Really? They had the marks and everything?” Junhong asked, and they nodded. 

“We think they’re coming after both of them again after they found out what they are” Mirae pointed out, looking at Hyuk and Jaehwan. “This is why Hyuk is crashing at my place for the meantime” 

It was Chanyeol’s turn to speak. “So, what else do we, or you, know about these Utopians?” He asked. 

“They’re a non-human criminal organization. They have human puppets doing their dirty work. As unfortunate as it sounds, the attack by the Prince on the city last year? That was just the beginning. They’re already moving forward with the next steps in their plan, that’s why people are getting abducted left and right” Junhong said quietly. “Their kingdom isn’t the powerful force down there. It’s this organization” 

“How long have they been down there?” Jaehwan asked, getting his notepad out to take down the information. 

Junhong shrugged. “More or less? Four hundred years and counting” he replied. “They’re headed by twelve leaders, whose code names are based on the twelve titans in Greek mythology” 

“Non-human cult, and Greek mythology. There is no relation to that whatsoever” Chanyeol shook his head. “Okay, so twelve titans. We’ll be looking for twelve people to get to them, huh?” 

“That’s right” Junhong nodded. “Twelve leaders, dozens of followers. The abductees are being turned into weapons” 

“Killing those who protest and enslaving those who surrender” Mirae finished. She glanced at Jaehwan. “Are you done taking down notes?” she teased. 

Hyuk suddenly got up and went to the door, signaling the delivery boy to bring their food. “So, how do we do this?” He brought their food over. “Mirae, Jaehwan, and I thought we would make time for it” he said. 

“Count me in, then, that makes four of us” Chanyeol agreed, helping himself to a piece of chicken. 

Junhong looked at all of them, and it gave him an idea. “The four of you might be just what the city needs” he said. 

That made the four of them stare at him. “Hmm?” 

“I’m just saying. The four of you make a good team. Why else would you all meet again? Or meet, in Jaehwan’s case?” Junhong explained. “The four of you also happen to have abilities no ordinary person has” he added. The four of them still said nothing. “If there is anything these enemies don’t know about, it’s what you’re capable of. Why bring in armies and engage in a full-blown war when the four of you can single handedly end this madness?” 

“That speech was enough to get me going” Jaehwan suddenly said, sitting back as he started eating. It made him think. It was about time his powers were used for something bigger than himself or anyone else in the room. 

“He’s right,” Chanyeol sat back as well. “We can do this. I know we can” he said. 

“I think so too” Hyuk agreed. 

They all turned to Mirae. She looked at all of them. “I do miss using my staff,” she said, making all of them look hopeful. “Alright, I’m in.” 

The four men cheered in their seats as they ate. Jaehwan felt especially happy that they were all teaming up like this. He couldn’t believe it. He was going to go on a cool mission. “Luckily, I managed to find a lead. There’s this club for the S&M crowd hidden in the backstreets of this part of town. I’m guessing that’s the hotspot where all the twelve leaders are” Junhong took out a piece of paper from his pocket. It was a map to the club. 

“Okay, so we go over there tonight?” Hyuk looked at them for an answer, and they agreed. “10 pm. We’ll meet at Mirae’s place first” 

“I’ll be there. Rehearsals for my finals will have ended by then” Jaehwan said. “Wait, S&M?” He turned to Hyuk for an answer. 

Hyuk just smiled. “You’ll know when you get there.” 

~ 

Jaehwan was in one of the music rooms of his university, going through the notes of his piece. His classmate and good friend Doyoung was testing the microphones to see if they worked well. He strummed his guitar, and felt the small dents at the back from what happened yesterday. As much as he wanted to concentrate, he couldn’t help but be distracted, and at the same time happy that he was finally going to get to use his powers properly and freely and that he met people who had powers as well. 

“You’ve been strumming the same note for a few minutes now” Doyoung suddenly went up to him. 

His comment made him snap out of his thoughts. “Hmm? Oh, sorry. I am just not in the zone today” he managed to answer. 

Doyoung raised a brow at his friend. “Are you alright?” He asked. 

Jaehwan nodded and flipped through his notebook. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just didn’t get that much sleep” he said, scratching his head as he looked through the notes, but Doyoung beat him to it, by showing him where they should start. He looked up at his friend with a sheepish grin on his face. “Sorry” 

“You really seem out of it today. Anyway, we’re starting here. We need to really do well, our finals depends on this” Doyoung said, before sitting down in front of the piano and placing the microphone in front of him. 

The rest of them were just as distracted. It was all Chanyeol, Mirae, and Hyuk could think about as they went on with their days. Chanyeol nearly set a table napkin on fire as he was cleaning up, Hyuk caught a glass as it fell to the floor in his studio, and Mirae accidentally caused a crack in the wall when she threw a piece of paper in the trash all the way from her desk. 

By the time practice ended, Jaehwan rushed out of the campus without another word. He would text Doyoung and his guardians on the bus ride to Mirae’s apartment. He was extra careful this time, trying to stay a few steps ahead of anyone who looked suspicious. They had tried to take him before, they wouldn’t hesitate to come through with it the second time. 

He had arrived after half an hour, followed by Chanyeol, who was chosen to close up the restaurant for the day. “Let me get changed first” He said, dropping his things by the door and rushing into the restroom. 

Chanyeol looked around. No one else was in the place but the door was unlocked. Jihoon hadn’t arrived yet either. He sat down on the couch and made himself comfortable. He hadn’t been to Mirae’s place before, just the one in the store. He noticed a long silver object in the corner of the room. Chanyeol remembered that she fought with that. It was her staff. He had always been impressed with her fighting skills. 

Mirae had soon arrived, followed by Jihoon, and both of them were carrying groceries and their laundry. Chanyeol noticed that Jihoon had come back from school as he was still wearing his uniform. “Give me a minute to get ready. Jihoon, you know what to do?” She turned to her brother. 

“Yes, be safe” he said, giving her a hug. 

Mirae smiled as she pulled away to grab her staff and take out a pair of fingerless gloves from her jacket pocket on the coat rack. She slipped them on, wiggling her fingers as she took out a deck of cards from the pocket as well. She reached into the shoe cabinet to take out a pair of knee-high boots and slipped them on as well, placing her staff into one of the belt loops of her pants. Chanyeol and Jaehwan noticed her get ready at the corner of the room. “Where’s Hyuk?” She asked, looking up at their expressions. 

“He’s not here, yet, I guess,” Jaehwan looked back in Jihoon’s room. “He hasn’t moved in yet, hasn’t he?” 

Mirae shrugged. “How would I know? I was at class today” she said. She let Johnny take over managerial duties while she had her classes a few times a week. 

“Hyuk is moving in with us? That’s awesome” Jihoon said as he put the groceries in their respective cupboards and shelves. “We can share a room or something, or I can sleep on the couch”

“You do not sleep on the couch, because I sleep on the couch” Mirae pointed out. “You’ll be graduating high school in a few months, you need to sleep well” she added. 

~ 

Hyuk was hurriedly placing all of his clothes and valuables into a big suitcase. He received another bloody note tacked onto his doorstep. He needed to get out, and fast. Mirae was probably already waiting for him to arrive, so did Chanyeol, so did Jaehwan. He could feel a presence coming from the elevators, and it was getting closer. Hyuk slipped on his coat and prepared to leave. The door suddenly burst open and in came two hooded thugs, both of them wearing black and had the Utopian mark tattooed on their faces. 

“This is a private residence,” Hyuk said calmly. “You should have knocked first” He waved a hand, bringing the two of them up in the air. He closed his hand into a fist, and their bodies twisted themselves. 

“The more you know...the easier it is to take you down….” one of them groaned. 

“Oh really? I’m not joining your little club” Hyuk clenched his fist, twisting their bodies even more. He could hear the sounds of their bones cracking. “You got that?” 

“Even if we fail, more will take our place...the Utopians will never stop” the other groaned loudly. “You are the key to our salvation..”

“I’m no key” Hyuk said, and he threw them out of the apartment and into the garbage chute. He heard a loud thud, and more footsteps coming towards his place. “Oh no” he hurried out of his apartment and into the fire escape. 

He climbed down the stairs as fast as he could and suddenly stopped when he heard the same footsteps head for the fire exit as well. Hyuk raised a hand and closed every door shut as he went down. He didn’t have time to fight. He needed to get to Mirae’s place. Taking out his car keys from his pocket, he got into his car and drove out as fast as he could. 

~ 

“So what’s the gameplan?” Jaehwan asked as he sat down on the chair. “How do we do this?” 

Chanyeol shrugged. “I haven’t gotten to that yet” 

Jaehwan looked at the firebender in disbelief. “I thought we had a plan. Did you really think we should just go in there?” 

“I don’t see any other option, actually,” Mirae said, coming back from the kitchen. “They hold their meetings there, right? We should just go at this head on” she said. 

Chanyeol and Jaehwan suddenly tilted their heads. They could suddenly hear Hyuk’s voice. “I’m coming. They got to me at my apartment but they got away. When I arrive, get in the car quickly” they heard him say in their heads. 

Mirae looked at both of them with a brow raised. “Are you guys okay?” 

“We uh, we sort of heard Hyuk’s voice. You know, the way Ino hyung would talk to everyone back then…” Chanyeol tried to explain. 

“Oh right...Hyuk’s a telepath too” Mirae said. 

“You didn’t hear what he said?” Jaehwan asked, and Mirae shook her head. 

“It’s one of the things that comes with having abilities like mine, I tend to generate static, which in turn forms a sort of telepathic shield. Mind-readers can’t read my minds” She explained. “At least that was how Junhong explained it to me before. Hyuk won’t be able to get through to me telepathically. What did he say?” 

“Some thugs for the Utopians got to him as he was going to leave. He’s already on his way here, but we have to get in the car quickly when he arrives” Chanyeol replied. 

Jaehwan tilted his head again. He could hear the tires of Hyuk’s car screech as it approached their building. He immediately stood up. “He’s here. We have to go” he said. 

~ 

Hyuk pulled up his car in front of the building and the three of them got inside. “We should really take note of the speed limit? So we don’t die or something?” Chanyeol said nervously, fastening his seatbelt in the passenger seat. 

“I can’t slow down. Who knows how those thugs got to me. They might be chasing us right now” Hyuk quickly switched lanes as he drove. Mirae and Jaehwan fastened their seatbelts as well, looking out the windows for a sign of the henchmen. 

“Does this mean my place is compromised too?” Mirae asked him. 

“No, no, they don’t know you have powers yet. But I couldn’t get through to them telepathically either. They told me that even if they failed, more of them will take their places to get to me…” Hyuk explained, making a sharp turn and sending Mirae and Jaehwan moving to one side of the car. 

“Great, so more people will be coming for us” Jaehwan panicked. “I don’t even know what Bom and Dongwook are going to say to me when I tell them this” 

“Well, whatever they say isn’t going to matter when they finally have us or something” Chanyeol said. “We have to keep them safe” 

“Do we send them to the police station?” Hyuk asked. 

“They’ll know what we’re up to and they’ll have us charged with vigilante work or something..” Mirae said. 

“Then where do we have them stay? Unless one of you guys owns a safehouse or something, I don’t think we have much of a choice but to send them to the police station for protection” Jaehwan asked, panicking even more. 

“We’re running out of time! Anyone suggest something!” Hyuk yelled, making another sharp turn. 

“My mom’s restaurant. We can tell them to pick each other up so they all head down there together” Chanyeol suddenly said. “Viva Polo” 

“So that’s why you looked so familiar!” Jaehwan was surprised. “You work there after all” 

“I do, and I see you there a lot” Chanyeol replied. “Okay, Viva Polo’s where they should all stay in. It connects to my dad’s live cafe and there’s a living space between the two.”

Mirae and Jaehwan whipped out their phones. “Jihoon? Jihoon, you have to listen to me…” she began, getting worried. “There are bad guys coming. I need you to pack up some things and stay at Viva Polo. Yeah, you know that? Okay good. Hyuk’s friend Jiho will be picking you up. You know him, right? Okay, good. Jiho will pick you up and you stay there until all of this is over” 

“How long until it ends?” Jihoon asked, practically jumping out of his bed to pack his things and some of Mirae’s in a big bag. 

“I don’t know. Hopefully soon. I’m sorry, but our place isn’t safe for now. People might come after you next. There will be food, so you don’t have to worry about that. Just pack up your stuff and I’ll see you at Viva Polo,” Mirae said quietly. “I love you, Jihoon. Stay safe.” 

Jaehwan called up his guardians as well. “Uncle? Something’s happening and I can’t explain on the phone right now, but everyone is in trouble. It’s not going to be safe at home anymore…” he admitted. 

“What do you mean it’s not safe anymore?” Dongwook sounded concerned. 

“I nearly disappeared yesterday. They might come after me again. Please head to Viva Polo and stay there until this is resolved…” Jaehwan said. 

“What about you? Where are you?” 

“I’m with Mirae and Hyuk, and her other friend Chanyeol. Their loved ones are going to his mom’s restaurant, Viva Polo. Please go there with Bom too. I’ll explain when we get there, but I want both of you to be safe. Tell mom and dad about this too.” Jaehwan hung up.


	3. Three

Jihoon found himself riding in Jiho’s car on the way to the restaurant. Jiho was just as rattled as he was, as he explained that he heard Hyuk’s voice in his head, telling him to stay away from the company or from any place he frequented. Jihoon realized that Jiho also knew that his friend was telepathic and telekinetic, just as he knew that Mirae was good with manipulating kinetic energy. 

“Do you have any idea what they’re trying to do? Hyuk scared the crap out of me” Jiho said as he pulled up in front of a convenience store that was several feet away from Viva Polo. He got out, and pulled out his things from the backseat as Jihoon did the same. 

“I do, I’ll try and explain later” Jihoon followed Jiho, nearly running towards the closed restaurant, where a woman whom they figured was Chanyeol’s mother and the owner was waiting outside, and gesturing for them to come in. 

As they made their way inside, they saw a couple, Bom and Dongwook, standing by and holding suitcases as well. Jihoon saw that they were all so worried about their situation. “Follow me, we’ll all stay here” The woman said, gesturing for them to follow her into a back room that had a flight of stairs. “This is our little office, but my husband and I have fixed it up a little to accommodate everyone” she said. 

“We’re safe, so I think you should explain what’s going on?” Jiho turned back to Jihoon, making everyone look at him. 

“I’m Park Jihoon, Mirae’s adoptive brother and I live with her. This is related to the disappearances that have been happening lately” 

“Jaehwan called us and said he nearly disappeared yesterday,” Bom leaned against Dongwook for support. “Is he trying to take matters into his own hands? He’ll be killed! Who knows what they’ll do to him if they take him again?!” she said, on the verge of tears. 

“I could say the same for Chanyeol…” The woman said. 

“Hyuk too. They almost took him last night “ Jiho sighed. 

“Mirae too. But the four of them are all together. I may be young, but I know that the four of them have powers no ordinary human being has” Jihoon said. 

“Powers? What powers?” Dongwook raised a brow. 

“Jaehwan hasn’t told you yet? He’s a mutant like them. He has super strength and superior senses,” Jihoon explained. “I believe that they won’t get hurt, they’re doing this to protect us from whatever might be coming next” 

“Next? You mean there’s more trouble coming? Not just the one last year?” Chanyeol’s mother asked. 

“I’m not sure, but from what I know, last year was only the beginning” Jihoon replied. 

~

“Hyuk, we should probably get back on track and head on over to that club or something” Chanyeol reminded him as they found themselves a little too far from their route. 

“I am driving us to that club, we’re just going to take a little detour” Hyuk replied, glancing at the rearview mirror. He noticed that there was this black and heavily tinted sedan following them all this time, no matter which turn he made. He was still having a little trouble with his powers. He couldn’t concentrate as consistently as he wanted to. His mind felt stretched. 

Jaehwan had noticed the sedan as well, sitting back to quietly try and listen to the driver. He could hear guns cocking. “Three men, armed, even the driver. They’re about to hit us” he said. 

As he had said, one of the men peeked out of the car and fired a number of bullets on the car. Hyuk kept his focus on the road, but he could feel the car slow down a little from the bullets being fired at them. “This is not cool at all” Mirae leaned over to look at the car that was following them. “Keep driving Hyuk. I can’t stop them, but I can slow them down” and Jaehwan saw that her eyes started to glow red as she stared at the car following them. 

A moment later, the engine of the sedan suddenly blew up, bursting into flames and making the car stop in the middle of the road. The glow in her eyes faded as she sat back down, breathing a sigh of relief. “You can drive easy now, they’re not going to follow us for a while” she leaned forward to pat Hyuk on the shoulder and give Chanyeol a high five. She sat back and noticed how amazed Jaehwan was. “It takes me a while to blow stuff like that up” she explained. 

Jaehwan just shook his head, still amazed by what he had seen. “You’re so cool” he said. 

A while later, they had approached the parking lot of the club. They noticed two businessmen step inside, followed by groups of Utopian thugs, all of whom had the mark tattooed on their faces and necks. They observed everyone going inside. “Those suited stiffs are the epitome of dirty old men” Mirae muttered, making them laugh. 

“Do you think they’ll know who we are if we just casually go inside through the front?” Jaehwan asked. 

“Probably. They were after me, and still are,” Hyuk said quietly. “Unless we go through the back” he noticed a red door at the side of the building next to a dumpster. “Showtime” he got out of the car and the rest of them followed. 

They crept up towards the back door. “It’s locked” Hyuk rattled the doorknob a little. 

“Let me do it. They can’t blame us if their door’s broken after all,” Jaehwan twisted the doorknob and they could hear the sound of parts clinking and breaking from the inside as he opened it. 

“It’s like stepping into the great beyond” Chanyeol whispered as they made their way inside, passing through a room that was full of toys and other things they’d rather not know about. They reached a door that led them to the bar on the side, where they could see almost everyone dressed in black, some of them in skintight vinyl outfits and holding whips among other things. The businessmen were seated in the middle of the place, smoking cigars and Jaehwan could see that their hands had the Utopian symbol on it. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, our little main show for tonight, the one, the only, Bae Harin,” a male voice said, and the curtain opened. 

“Isn’t that the one who disappeared a few weeks ago?” Jaehwan’s eyes widened at what he was seeing her do on the small stage. 

“Yep, the same one” Chanyeol quickly looked away, and so did Mirae. 

“Those businessmen, do you think they could be among the twelve?” Hyuk whispered. 

“It’s too easy to assume that it would be them,” Mirae shook her head. “Then again, sometimes it is that easy…” 

“Come on, let’s just go inside, we can find out who their boss is if we try and blend in” Jaehwan gestured to the door, finding himself pushed out into the club. “Good thing we’re all wearing the same colors” 

The rest of them casually walked past the crowd and stopped in front of a bar. “Fresh meat,” the bartender, Ji Haebin said as she leaned on the counter. “What can I get the four of you?” 

“Four beers” Hyuk replied, and Chanyeol, Mirae, and Jaehwan knew that he was trying to read her mind. He tried to maintain his calm, but he was surprised to see that she was also working here, after having disappeared several weeks ago along with Herin. 

“Coming right up. You four travel in a group, huh?” Haebin replied. 

“You could say that. They’re my pets, all three of them” Mirae was the one who spoke this time, patting Jaehwan’s head. She kissed his cheek, and it made him blush. “I love this one the most” she said to him, while reaching back to smooth the back of Chanyeol’s head. 

Haebin served them their beers. “What brings the four of you to this side of town?” She asked. 

“We just wanted to see something new” Chanyeol said, tapping his glass a little before taking a sip. He brought the glass up to his lips and pretended to take a sip. There was something funny in the glass that he couldn’t understand, and it seemed that Hyuk got the idea as well. “Word has it that there’s a secret meeting here, would you know what it is?” 

“Secret meeting? Hon, this whole place is a secret meeting. That’s not new” Haebin laughed. 

Hyuk tapped his glass. “Well, word has it that a Titan,” he paused to see a change in her expression. “Is calling the shots in this place. One of twelve.” He said. 

“Twelve? Titans? Oh you’ll really see something new here, boys,” Haebin grinned. She turned to Jaehwan and touched his cheek. He stiffened a little as her hand felt really cold. She suddenly opened the beer tap again and a loud alarm rang, making everyone turn their attention to them. “Intruders!!!!” she pointed at the four of them. 

Everyone stood up to look at the four of them, while they stayed still. “This whole place is a gathering for all the thugs, right?” Hyuk got bolder, as if provoking all of them. 

The businessmen suddenly went up to them. “You are absolutely right. Theia will be pleased to hear about our four, super-powered, individuals” they grabbed them by the shoulders and turned them around. “We’ve been looking for mutants for a while since last year’s events” 

“You’re going to bring us somewhere, huh?” Chanyeol asked. He glanced at Hyuk, Mirae, and Jaehwan. “We’re not going” he said. 

One of them tutted. “Please, while we’re still asking nicely” 

“Nope. I know what you’ll do to us if we do. We’re not going to work for you” Jaehwan groaned as he felt the grip on his collar tighten. 

“The four of you realize that now we have you, we will look for everyone you love and take them away, right?” The other said. 

~ 

They could only stare at Jihoon’s lengthy explanation. He wound up telling them everything that happened about last year, and how it was related to what was going on now. Chanyeol’s mother and father brought in some snacks for them while the rest set up a small space on the floor where they could eat. Now that they knew the details, they figured to stay hidden as much as possible. “I’ll have to take a week off work at the most” Jiho sighed, taking out his phone and upon remembering what Jihoon had said, turned it off. The rest of them did the same. 

“So do we. You’ll have to stay in too, Jihoon,” Bom said to him. “If Mirae, Jaehwan, Chanyeol, and Hyuk are trying to put a stop to this as you said, then we can’t leave this place” she turned to her husband and leaned on him. 

“I can only hope that they don’t fail. They have so much power, but knowing how dangerous the Utopians can be, there’s no telling what they can do to the four of them” Dongwook said. 

Chanyeol’s parents and his sister Yura sat down with a sigh. “Let’s try not to focus on the bad and just be positive” his mother said. “Come on, let’s eat, let’s eat. We can only have this ready since we closed up” she added. 

Chanyeol’s father turned on the television, keeping the volume on low in case anyone from the outside heard anything. He flipped the channel to go on the late night news. “Establishments are now strongly encouraged to reduce operating hours until further notice due to the sudden spike in missing persons which just occurred moments ago, as over a dozen individuals have now been reported to be missing.” The news anchor reported. 

“This will become a ghost town before we know it” Jiho mumbled, putting down the garlic bread that he was munching on.

“The different police departments all over the country are now dispatching officers to patrol around the areas. Everyone is also advised to be on high alert for suspicious figures” 

“The whole city is in danger in other words” Dongwook muttered. They looked out the small window. They could only hope that the four of them could put an end to this. 

~ 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Mirae stared at all the thugs and the businessmen. “Are we just going to stare at each other or are we going to fight?” Mirae suddenly said, making the three men look at her in surprise. 

“I wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours” The businessman said, stroking her cheek. “But I trust that the four of you won’t be able to make it out alive if you decide to resist” he added. 

“You underestimate us so easily” Mirae’s eyes started to glow and so did her fingertips. She kicked the man in the abdomen, sending him flying across the room and knocking over the thugs like bowling pins. He crashed into the wall, leaving a big crack and bits of plaster and cement were coming off of it. 

At the same time, Jaehwan threw off the thug who held him by the collar and into a pillar. Chanyeol’s eyes started to glow as well, and the thug who held him was yelling in pain as he felt his hands getting burned. Hyuk still struggled, trying to throw off the particularly large henchman that had him. Mirae came in just in time, swinging her staff to knock him out on the head, Hyuk avoiding the fall just in time. 

“Do we take them down?” Mirae asked. 

“I don’t think we have much of a choice” Jaehwan said, looking at the rest who were still standing and were about to strike. 

They started to charge, attacking the four of them left and right. Mirae quickly dodged the strikes from the sharp objects they had while incapacitating them. Jaehwan used his strength to throw them off, while Chanyeol resorted to firey punches and holds as the flames engulfed his fists. Hyuk waved his hands, sending a telepathic energy blast to the minions surrounding him. 

In the midst of the fighting, Jaehwan broke the arms of two thugs and spotted Mirae delivering kicks and punches, her eyes still glowing red. She spun her staff as fast as she could before striking it into the ground. Everyone else was sent flying towards the walls and the counters, the windows shattering and the light fixtures hanging above falling. Hyuk managed to make himself, Chanyeol, Jaehwan and even the chandelier fall elsewhere instead of hitting Mirae. 

Mirae looked up from where she stood, seeing almost everyone on the ground and unable to move. Some of the thugs were even covered in debris and bits of broken glass, others suffering severe burns on their faces and scratches from the impact. “Come on, I think we’ve found what we’re looking for, let’s head back” Hyuk went up to her. The glow in her eyes soon faded as well as the glow on her fingertips. 

Jaehwan was still in disbelief as he stared at her. “Wow” was all he could say, following them out of the club. He was in disbelief over what just happened, what they just did, but he knew that Mirae, Chanyeol, and Hyuk have experienced doing this before. 

They ran out of the club before anyone could get up from their places and into the parking lot. “Oh wow, it’s been a while” Chanyeol couldn’t believe what happened as well, and the three of them laughed as he drove them out of there. As the car sped away, someone from the building across from the club was watching them through a telescope. 

~ 

Red cloaked figures entered the dilapidated club. Their faces were obscured, covered by the hoods that they wore. They stood over the two businessmen. “Useless,” one of them, an older woman, said. “A waste of assets and resources.” 

“It is also a sign” the other, a much older man, said to the woman. “A sign that we need to move forward with our plan regardless.” he said. “Crius and Iapetus weren’t much for us, now they’ve met their demise.” 

“We still have enough resources, Cronus, Theia,” the third figure, a younger man said. “The four people who came out of here, they might be useful” 

“You’ve said that once before, Hyperion,” Theia turned to him. “I trust your word.” 

“I will have my men follow those four people” Cronus suggested. 

“I thought you already gave the order.” Theia remarked. 

They suddenly heard tires screeching and cars taking off, a group of men laughing maniacally as they went past the speed limit on the run. “Those were my people,” another older woman stepped out of the shadows. Her appearance made the three figures lower their hoods. “You know, these red hoods won’t do much when trying to blend in” she said. 

“Rhea” they all said. 

“His royal highness Zeenohai may have passed, but his legacy is for us to fulfill. Now with that superhuman army dismantled, we can and we will move forward with our plan. Seoul will fall, and its citizens will kneel before us as we welcome a new age.”

“What about those four people? They nearly tore this place apart?” Hyperion asked. 

“They are not important. One of them unwittingly helped us out anyway, by destroying the Center for Paranormal Research.” Rhea pointed out. 

“The girl,” Hyperion figured it out. “She has power.” 

“We have power too. She is but a stubborn weed in our garden, but we know better.” Rhea said to them. “ 

~ 

Chanyeol drove as fast as he could, being careful of the speed limit at the same time. All of them were feeling good about what just happened, save for Jaehwan, who was still in a daze. “I haven’t done that in a long time” he chuckled, making a sharp turn. 

“Me neither. It feels good” Hyuk was pleased as he sat back. 

“Heol, we really did it. We really beat everyone up” Jaehwan said, smiling at Mirae, who just smiled back. “I do feel a little sore, though” 

“Don’t worry, we all are” Mirae assured him. 

Jaehwan stared at her. “You, though. Wow. You kicked some serious ass earlier” he said. 

Mirae just smiled. “See? I told you she could kick ass” Hyuk suddenly commented. 

“That wasn’t her final form yet, Jaehwan. You should see her use the full extent of her powers” Chanyeol chimed in. 

“Eyy, both of you, eyes on the road” Mirae poked the backs of their heads. She smiled at Jaehwan. “You’ll probably learn more about me in time. This is all you get for now” she teased, making him laugh. 

They suddenly heard loud cackling coming from a distance. Jaehwan froze in his seat and closed his eyes. Some thugs were eyeing their car. They were armed with bigger guns and they were planning to shoot them. “Guys, I think we should drive as fast as possible. We’re being followed and they’re really armed” he said. 

Chanyeol glanced at the rearview mirror. “You’re right, they’re going to shoot any minute now, are they?” he asked. 

Mirae looked out the window. “Yep, pretty much. Is the whole forcefield still there?” she asked. 

Hyuk sat up. “I’m not sure-” 

Bullets started to hit the trunk of the car, making Chanyeol swerve a little. “Yep, they’re shooting now, we need to get away from them fast” he said, trying to get past the few cars in front of them. One bullet hit one of the tires. “They’re trying to total this car” he swerved again, trying to dodge the oncoming bullets. 

Jaehwan closed his eyes again, in the hopes of hearing what the men in those cars were saying. His eyes shot open as he realized that they weren’t just armed. “Guys, we need to move a lot faster, the guns they have are bigger and if we don’t do something, they’ll shoot a bazooka at us” he said. 

“They try and kidnap us, then they total my car, and now they’re trying to kill us, I get the game now” Hyuk said, making Chanyeol’s foot press the gas pedal harder. Mirae instantly fastened her seatbelt, making Jaehwan do the same. They nearly fell forward at the sudden burst of speed. 

Chanyeol stared at Hyuk as he suddenly felt a stiffness on the steering wheel. “Hey! No fair! Just try and keep those missiles or whatever they’re planning on aiming at us away from us and everyone else that’s on here. Maybe send it up into the sky or something” he said. 

“I’m trying, it’s hard to concentrate on so many things at once” Hyuk could already see them trying to aim their weapons at their car. He opened the window just a bit, and placed an invisible force field all over the car and even on the inside. “I’m not sure how strong this is going to be, but I think it’ll buy us some time” he said. 

“Okay, worst case scenario is that we’ll all die at their hands and we won’t be able to save the city” Jaehwan realized, trying to calm himself down. 

“We’re not going to die, I promise everyone that” Mirae grabbed his hand and held it tightly. She saw how scared he was, how worried he was about everyone else. She looked over at the cars that were following them again. “Chanyeol, can you try and melt their tires or something?” she asked, until she found herself hitting the car doors. 

The cars next to them were full of thugs as well. “Oh shit” The fire controller groaned as he opened the window. He couldn’t do anything with his powers now, as Hyuk’s force field protected them. Just then his phone started to ring. “I’m not taking calls right now” he glanced at his phone in his pocket. 

“It’s Junhong” Hyuk replied, taking the phone out for him and placing him on speaker. 

“Hey guys, any luck?” He asked. 

“Uh, yes and no. It seems like they’re using the kidnapped people as their thugs like what we figured out,” Hyuk explained. “The S&M club was their base of operations, another thing we already figured out,” he looked over at Mirae and Jaehwan. “The strange part is that those who disappeared sort of work there, as sex slaves or something” 

“But we also found out that they have a leader among themselves. The two businessmen who come to that club are from the twelve,” Mirae leaned over to explain.

“Y-yeah, and we kicked their asses when we got caught.” Jaehwan chimed in. “Now they’re coming after us yet again and they’re probably thinking of using a bazooka!” he panicked, and Mirae squeezed his hand again. They fired another round of bullets towards the car, but they heard the muffled impact as it only hit the forcefield. 

“Hold on, I’m tracking you guys down,” Junhong said. There was some silence for a moment on the other line. “There’s a safehouse not far from where you are. Go up to the skyway and then turn right. Go into the tunnel. It should be a few meters past it” he instructed. 

“You heard the boy genius, Yeol” Mirae said, and Chanyeol followed his instructions, making a sharp turn towards the skyway. They were driving down the winding road and sped into the tunnel, catching the thugs off guard. 

“Whoo!” Chanyeol and Jaehwan cheered, and the rest of them just laughed. They were in the clear. All they had to do was get to the safehouse. 

As Chanyeol drove on, he pulled up to where Junhong had told them to go. It looked like anything but a safehouse. It was a concrete wall with a vending machine. “This is the safehouse? A vending machine?” Hyuk sat up. Mirae looked down and noticed that she was still holding Jaehwan’s hand and let go. 

“Good, you found it,” Junhong suddenly said. “Press C5” he instructed. 

The four of them got out of the car as Hyuk dissolved the force field that protected the vehicle and went up to the vending machine. “Does this work? I’m pretty thirsty” Jaehwan looked at the variety of drinks that were inside. 

“We’ll probably get something to drink later” Hyuk pressed the button that Junhong referred to. 

They stepped back in surprise as the machine suddenly opened, revealing a dark passageway that was lit by white Christmas lights. “This is so cool. Too bad I can’t even write a paper on what I did for my vacation or something” Jaehwan mumbled as Hyuk led the way. The machine closed behind them, prompting them to keep going. 

The further they walked, they could see a faint light coming from the left corner of the passageway. The light was coming from under a red door which opened the minute they arrived. 

It looked like a very decorated basement, but to Mirae and Chanyeol, it looked incredibly familiar. There was a big flat screen tv in one part of the room, with a lot of gaming consoles connected to it. There was a big couch in front of it, and there was a dining area with a small round table that could only fit five people at a time. Instead of a proper kitchen, there was a big cupboard filled with microwaveable or instant meals that could be made by adding hot water. There was a small room next to the kitchen, and that was where Junhong came out. They were still staring at him. “You like it? I tried to make sure this all looked like the recreation room at the center, but with smaller adjustments of course.” He said, studying their expressions. Jaehwan looked the most surprised. 

“How did you get the money to have this place done?” was what Chanyeol had to ask. 

“I put my life savings in this place. You guys do know you were all paid, right? You didn’t check your bank accounts?” Junhong raised a brow at them. 

Mirae and Chanyeol looked surprised. They weren’t aware of it at all. “Who paid us?” She asked.

“Ino hyung. He told me to make sure all of you had enough money when the time came that you might not want to work at the Center anymore and in the worst case scenario if he and/or Professor Jang passed on,” Junhong explained, a little embarrassed that he had to say it after having known all this time. 

“We had money all this time? I could have gotten a nicer place for Jihoon and I,” Mirae said quietly. “With two rooms or something, or a bigger room for him...I should check my bank account again” 

“Me too” Chanyeol nodded. 

“I’m suddenly wishing I was recruited around the same time as both of you. If it meant hanging out in a place like this” Jaehwan was in awe. 

“We had to live there, not just hang out. We lived, trained to control our powers in there” Mirae chuckled. 

“Still, my parents wouldn’t have to worry if I did. I’d be living comfortably” Jaehwan replied. 

Junhong cleared his throat, wanting to get back to their situation. “So, I received word that your loved ones are all in the office of Chanyeol’s parents’ restaurant and cafe. They should be safe. I took the liberty of installing something useful before they were brought in there” he explained. 

That made Chanyeol raise a brow. “Say what? What did you do?” 

“I just bulletproofed the doors and windows, that’s all, with the same material I used on the cars” Junhong answered. 

“There were cars at the center too?! And they were cool ones?!” Jaehwan couldn’t believe what he heard. “It’s so cool being a mutant” 

“Anyway,” Junhong said. “I was able to hack into the CCTV footage at the club. I can do some facial recognition but it’s going to take a while and we’re nearing dawn. We need to stay here and figure out our next move” he explained. 

“I am in need of a shower,” Hyuk sighed as Chanyeol followed Junhong inside the room where he came from. There were several big computer monitors and keyboards. 

“I brought in some of your clothes. There’s warm water too” Junhong called out from the room and pointed to the door between the kitchen and the living room. Hyuk sighed and stepped inside. 

~

A five-star restaurant, named 2-4-7 was closed off for the evening. Ten people were seated at a long table, enjoying a five course meal. “Crius and Iapetus. Though their means of getting people to submit to our new order are far from the ideal, we have gotten stronger. We will always keep them in our thoughts moving forward” Rhea, who sat at the head of the table, lifted her glass of wine. 

The rest of them followed suit and took a sip afterwards. “It seems that our time is running out,” an old woman commented. “Are you sure we can pull through without Crius and Iapetus’ resources?” 

Rhea scoffed. “Tethys, you talk as if we’re getting outnumbered. Those were acceptable losses, losses that we could afford. However, any more of that is not.” 

“Are we even prepared to destroy the city when everything fails?” 

“More than prepared. All we have to do is give the command.” Rhea replied. 

“What about the gold?” A smaller, middle-aged man who sat next to Tethys asked. 

“We’ve reached the level of where it should be, Coeus. However, there is something standing in our way” Cronus answered. “Those four people responsible for killing Crius and Iapetus.” 

“Hit a snag, have we?” Themis, a woman dressed in an aquamarine shift dress, commented. “They don’t know about the gold, do they?” 

“If they do, and if they don’t want anyone they love getting hurt, they should stay away” Theia replied. 

“Ah yes, those weeds in our garden. They will get found soon enough. I had my men follow them” Rhea said simply. She observed the rest of them as they ate through the courses. “Where the prince failed, we will succeed. I can assure everyone, as the leader of the Utopians, we will create a new order with the gold we acquire” 

“Utopia” Hyperion raised his glass.

“Utopia” they repeated, and clinked their glasses. 

~ 

Jihoon sat by the window in the office. All was quiet, and everyone else had fallen asleep. He was incredibly worried. He wanted to know if Mirae was alright, but he knew he shouldn’t try to reach her in any way. He left his phone at the apartment, knowing that it was what she would tell him. The enemy that he knew of was dangerous, and it seemed like it was getting more dangerous by the day, and it had only been two days. 

He remembered how they met again like it was yesterday. 

2 Months After the Seoul Attack: 

Jihoon quietly packed his belongings in a small suitcase as he prepared to leave. After four years of staying in a sanatorium, and after his only friend, Mirae had left the previous year, he was finally getting out. He put on the clothes he wore when he was first admitted, and on his way out, the nurses and doctors who were treating him gave him a certificate declaring him cured. 

He didn’t have any family. He was abandoned, and they made up some excuse as to why he should stay there. His first year was rough, and it was then that he met Mirae, who had been staying for far longer than he did. They became fast friends, knowing that they were the only two sane ones in the place, but that didn’t exempt them from getting any treatment. He knew that Mirae underwent electroshock therapy once every few months while he was on medication that only knocked him out. 

But he tried not to think about those times further. Jihoon stepped out of the sanatorium gates, feeling uncertain of where to go and what to do first. He didn’t have a place to stay, or a place to go. He didn’t even have any money.

There was that feeling of uncertainty he felt, like he was being pushed out into the world, helpless, and alone. He could always sleep in the public bath house, and get a job somewhere, make enough to hopefully go back to school again. He stood in front of the entrance, and took a deep breath. It was his chance to get his life back on track. 

“Jihoon?” 

He turned to the voice. It was Mirae. She was looking alright. Better than the last time he saw her. “Mirae?” 

No other words needed to be said as she dropped her shopping bag and nearly tackled him into a hug. “I can’t believe it. You’re finally out.” She smiled as she pulled away. “From what I see, you just got out” 

“Y-yeah, I did.” A wave of relief washed over Jihoon. “I’m now declared sane and cured, either one” he showed her the certificate he had. 

Mirae looked at him, a warm smile spread on her face. “Stay with me” she said. 

“I-is it okay? Jihoon asked. “I don’t want to take up space” 

“It’s more than okay. I promised you I’d find you one day when you get out. I also promised you that we’d stick together. You and me, right?” Mirae said. “Come stay with me. It’s the first day of the rest of your life again. I can even send you back to school with the money I earned”

For the first time in a while, Jihoon felt safe again. 

~ 

Jaehwan stepped out of the bedroom, already in a fresh set of clothes and styled hair. He figured that they wouldn’t have time to change later so he may as well have looked good even if he could only sleep. Hyuk had already fallen asleep in one of the beds, and Chanyeol was with Junhong in the room, waiting for him to finish analyzing the CCTV footage he gathered. He saw Mirae, her hair still wet, and seated on the couch, shuffling a deck of cards on her lap. 

Mirae shuffled the cards slowly, until she pulled a few fancy tricks on the deck, the cards nearly flying off her hands as she shuffled them with a flourish. “Wow” he was amazed. “You handle the cards like some pro-gambler would or something” 

She just smiled. “I kind of had to teach myself this. It’s not so attractive for someone that has the same powers as I do to just throw any random object” she chuckled. Mirae patted the space on the couch next to her. “Sit down, you must be tired” 

Jaehwan did as he was told, realizing how close they were sitting together, so he moved away an inch. He was still in a daze, trying to wrap his head around the events. All this time, leading up to what happened a few days ago, he lived a normal life, as someone who discreetly used his powers at a time where people like him were revealed to be real. He was feeling mixed emotions. He was worried about Bom and Dongwook and even his own parents, he was scared for his life and at the same time he was determined to face this enemy head on, and excited that he could put his powers to use. 

“Are you okay?” Mirae noticed the way he looked. 

Jaehwan snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little worn out from the fight” he said quietly. 

Mirae put down the cards she was holding and suddenly reached for his hand. She felt the strain in his fingers, perhaps from playing the guitar too much. There was something about Jaehwan that made her drawn to him. She didn’t know him as long as she knew Hyuk and Chanyeol and even Junhong, but she felt like he had been around for a while and she just didn’t notice until now. She looked down at their hands, noticing how they fit together. 

It had been a while since she genuinely loved someone. All her life, she was alone. Hyuk was the one who had stolen her heart during the days they worked together until she left to work at the Center. However, those feelings for him didn’t last, until it resurfaced again with Jaehwan. 

He turned to her. “Were you scared? The first time you had to do something like this?” he asked. 

“I was. Terrified,” she replied, still looking at their hands. “I was so used to sparring with a dummy or something similar. I felt like I could forget what I’ve been trained to do and just run for my life” 

“You looked so confident back there” Jaehwan said, making her smile. “You looked so confident, and beautiful, not that I didn’t think it before but…” he trailed off, biting his lip to stop himself from saying more. He was just in awe of her. 

Mirae felt her heart flutter as she let go of his hand and looked at him. In a moment of sudden confidence, he leaned in to kiss her. She kissed him back, cupping his cheek with her hand as he wrapped his arms around her. It was intense, and it made everything clear for the two of them. 

~ 

The day of the attack: 

Hyuk, Mirae, and Chanyeol were fighting off an army of goblins along with their fellow teammates inside an enormous dome-shaped room that currently had a realistic simulation of the goblin palace. The prince had turned the room into a vortex manipulator, and therefore transported them to their turf. 

Chanyeol, engulfed in the flames he could create, set fire to a few dozen goblins, while Mirae was throwing them off with her staff and the cards she threw at them, making them explode, their blood splattering all over the rest of them. 

Mirae climbed up to the balcony and stepped back in surprise when she saw Ino appear as an astral projection. “Oppa..” she said. “Where are you we need you?” She choked when one goblin tried to strangle her with her staff. She kicked them away, her eyes glowing as bright as ever. 

“I need you to destroy this place. Destroy the kingdom. Only then can we eliminate them” Ino said. 

“What?” Mirae couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I’d end up destroying the building, oppa! I can’t do that!” she said. 

“You have to. It’s necessary” Ino urged her. 

“I’m not powerful enough” Mirae shook her head. 

“That’s not true. You have more power than you think. You have to do what’s necessary. I’ll warn the rest” Ino instructed. “Go! It’s the only way to save the world!” and he disappeared. 

Ino appeared to the rest of them. “Enough fighting! Mirae’s going to destroy the place! Run out of here!” he said. 

“She’ll die in here if we leave her!” Chanyeol replied. 

“She won’t. I’ll make sure of it!” Hyuk assured them, looking up at Mirae, who was fighting off more goblins from the balcony. “Leave us here! Go! Go!” 

They saw Mirae’s eyes glow, but it was a different kind of glow. It was a lot stronger this time as she held onto her staff. The rest of them tried to run out, shooting the goblins instead. Hyuk raised his hand towards her and placed a protective shield around her. Her staff started to glow as red as her eyes and fingertips, and a blinding light soon ensued as she jumped down, striking her staff into the ground. 

An explosion occurred, sending everyone in the team flying in different directions and away from each other. The Center was destroyed and it started to crumble down into the ground, causing the earth to quake. 

Hyuk landed nearest to the gate, his clothes all dusty from the debris. He quickly got back on his feet, hoping for a sign of Mirae. He looked around, the others were nowhere to be found. He crawled closer to the site. Almost everything had collapsed on itself, until he saw some blocks of concrete and cement move and shift. He walked closer, and saw a gloved hand that he knew was hers. 

He waved a hand and lifted the rest of the debris up before helping Mirae up and out of the pile of rubble. Her suit was torn in places, but she and her staff were intact. There were bits of blood on her cheek, on the spots where he figured she suffered cuts from. Mirae coughed as she got on her feet, and he wiped the blood off her cheek. She couldn’t say anything, and neither could he. This had to be done to save everyone else. 

~ 

“Okay, twelve titans, it’s possible we’re looking for twelve people,” Junhong typed into his computer furiously, trying to do some facial recognition and cross-matching of faces from pictures on the internet. “Utopians are made up of twelve influential figures, right? So, we’re looking for people at the top, celebrities, businessmen, politicians...” he continued typing. 

Chanyeol was looking up the names of the titans on his phone. “So...six men and six women” he mused, looking at articles of accidents and disasters. “Freak accidents and earthquakes over the years,” he mumbled. He glanced at Junhong. “Did Ino hyung or Professor Jang ever tell you how we got funding to get all these nice stuff?” he asked, curiously. 

“Ino hyung had no idea,” Junhong replied without looking. “But with a little digging, I found out that Professor Jang came from a family of jewel importers. His grandfather was a noble trader during the old days. That’s how he has so much money to spend on all of us” he explained. 

Chanyeol looked very impressed and nodded, and went back to browsing. “Do you think what happened last year could be related to what we’re dealing with now?” 

“I have a feeling it is. Creatures are starting to become more confident now after that Prince tried to destroy the city. I’m still wondering how he turned the training room into a sort of vortex manipulator…” Junhong replied with a sigh, and suddenly sat up. “The two men you encountered at the club? They not only own that club, but a chain of other clubs in Hongdae. Kim Taeim and Ju Jinsil” 

“TaeSil? No wonder they looked familiar” Chanyeol recalled the fight at the club. “People who come to the restaurant mention them often. Anything else you can find? Like, who’s backing their whole club chain or something?” 

Junhong began typing some more. “They’re being bankrolled by the Atlas Financial Group” he read what he found. “The Atlas Financial Group was formerly called Selene Loans. It’s funny because Selene and Atlas are also the names of titans in Greek mythology…” he glanced over at Chanyeol. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” 

Chanyeol nodded, having caught on. “Atlas Financial Group’s probably headed by their leader. Who was the leader of the titans?” 

“In Greek mythology, Cronus is the leader of the titans. But there’s a chance that they’ve just randomly named themselves” Junhong said. 

That only left them with more questions, and they didn’t have much time. Chanyeol turned on the television, and listened to the morning report. “This city’s become a ghost town because so many people are staying in for the day” he muttered. 

Junhong sighed. “I’ll do some more digging, you should freshen up and get changed until we figure out our next move” he advised the older. 

Chanyeol left the room and paused when he spotted Jaehwan and Mirae, leaning on each other. From the way they sat, the two of them had fallen asleep. He peeked inside the bedroom, where Hyuk had now covered himself with the blankets as he slept. As he cleaned himself up, he couldn’t help but think of the consequences, of what could happen that might change everything. So many people could die in this war. So many lives were at stake. 

He started wondering if this was how things were meant to go down for him. For all of them. From fifteen, sixteen people with powers, it had now become the four of them. No mentors, no suits, no fancy cars, nothing. Just them. 

He came out of the room, already dressed in cleaner clothes. The ones he wore smelled of smoke from the club they were in. Chanyeol sat down on the other bed,wondering what else to do. “You should get some sleep,” Hyuk suddenly mumbled from where he was, eyes slightly open. “We can wait for answers in the morning...or whatever time we all wake up” 

Hyuk was right. All they could do is get some rest and hope for a solution in the morning. 

~ 

Morning had come, and everyone in the room was awake. Chanyeol’s parents had gone to their restaurants’ kitchens to make breakfast. “No call, no message from anyone…” Bom looked at her phone. “Where could Jaehwan be?” she turned to her husband. 

“They’ll contact us somehow. I’m sure of it. Wherever Jaehwan is, he’s likely safe” Dongwook assured her. 

“We’ll just have to hope they’re alive. I know my friend’s powerful, but I can’t say that he’s invincible,” Jiho looked just as worried. 

Jihoon couldn’t agree nor could he disagree. He had seen Mirae heal even the most severe of wounds, from stab wounds to knife slices on her face. It made him wonder if she could really be invincible.”The enemy is capable of much more than what they’re doing right now, from what I’ve learned. But you’re right. We can only hope that they’re still out there.” 

Chanyeol’s parents had come in with trays of food and drinks. “Breakfast, everyone,” they set everything down on the table in front of them. Bowls of seaweed soup, kimchi fried rice, and sliced pork belly were on the menu after an Italian dinner the night before. “Any news from the four of them?” Chanyeol’s mother asked them, and they shook their heads. 

“I think they’re deliberately not answering calls and messages for now,” Jihoon deduced. “The Utopians are likely tracking them down with any signal they can find. They might be quietly intercepting calls and messages without us knowing.” 

“It’s sick, I tell you. What whoever is responsible for this is doing to those innocent people. What if they’re selling them off to those evil organizations? What if they’re being used as experiments?! I hate to think what might happen to Jaehwan!” Bom panicked, unable to eat. 

Dongwook wrapped an arm around his wife and rubbed her shoulder soothingly. “Jaehwan’s all grown up. I’m sure with the powers he has, he can take care of himself. He’s not alone, he has three other friends with him,” he said, in an attempt to comfort her. 

“But,” Chanyeol’s mother began. “What-what can we even do to help them? How can we help put an end to this? The four of them will still get hurt” 

They said nothing.


	4. Four

Mirae stood in the middle of a dark room, with only the light above her head as the only source of illumination. She was wearing an orange and black oversized shirt and pants, and she remembered that this was what she wore in the sanitarium. She was barefoot, and she had her staff with her. “You’re weak, Lee Mirae” said a voice from the dark. “Plagued by guilt, by anger, by sadness. All of these make you so vulnerable,” it continued, circling around her but remaining hidden. “You must learn to drive that out of yourself. You’re extraordinary and you know it.” 

Mirae said nothing, nor could she say anything. But the voice carried on. 

“Use that guilt, that anger, that sadness you have inside you, to further drive your staff into the hearts of those undeserving of you,” the voice said. 

A shelf full of weapons was suddenly made visible in the dark. Mirae stared at the arsenal. “You are made to wield each and every one of these weapons.You are made to kill. You are a weapon, our hope for a new world.” 

Her eyes suddenly shot open and she sat up, panting. She was in the hideout. Jaehwan was asleep, his head was near hers, resting on a couch cushion. It was only a dream. It was only a dream, a dream that wasn’t real, but the voice seemed very familiar. It was as if it was her own adoptive parents’ voices. 

“You okay?” Chanyeol had seen her get up. He was sipping coffee. “Had a nightmare or something?” 

Mirae tilted her head. “Somewhat, but dreams don’t mean anything, really. At least to me, they don’t” she said, running a hand through her hair. “Have you been up the whole night?” 

Chanyeol shook his head. “No, slept a little bit. Couldn’t sleep much, really,” he stared down at his now-empty cup. “I’m worried about my family. I’m worried about what could happen to them out there.” 

Mirae got up and poured herself a cup of coffee. “It’s only been what? A day? And all this is happening” she sighed, sitting down next to him. “So, any leads or something?” she asked. “What did Junhong find?”

“The owners of that club? The dudes you punched? TaeSil” Chanyeol revealed. 

“They’re TaeSil? Those owners of those clubs?” Mirae asked, and he nodded. “No wonder they looked familiar. What about them? Anything else?” 

“They’re being financed by, get this, the Atlas Financial Group, formerly called Selene Loans back some years ago or something.” Chanyeol explained. “Putting two and two together? The Titans are probably using the clubs as a kind of way to put the people they kidnap together” he shrugged. 

Mirae looked up in thought. “It’s also a kind of dead end. What are they planning to do with these people? Mind control? World domination?” she sighed. 

“Perhaps,” Chanyeol nodded. “We can’t rule that out. The Prince tried that one out last year, didn’t he?” he said. 

“But this time around, it’s just going to be the four of us trying to stop him,” Mirae looked a little sad. 

“It’s not your fault,” Chanyeol shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault. You only did what Ino hyung told you to do, you should stop feeling so guilty about what happened” 

Mirae looked at the fire controller. “I wish I could convince myself that. If Hyuk didn’t save me, I would have wanted to die there-” 

“Shh” He waved a hand dismissively. “You talk like you killed most of us in there. I can tell you right now that you didn’t.” he assured her. 

“Sometimes the memories of that day come back to haunt me, and when it does, I’m reminded of the bad things I could do…” She let out a sigh. “It’s just not cool, not cool at all” she finished, making Chanyeol laugh. 

“If anything, I like your powers,” Chanyeol said. “I like mine, but I also like yours.” He held out his hand, where it suddenly glowed and was soon engulfed in flames before disappearing. “I found this to be quite useful once I got the hang of it. I could pop popcorn in my hands, heat up a drink or a plate of food, and I don’t get scalded by other hot things.” 

Mirae smiled. “I’m sure that’s the case. You barely need a stove when you can just hold whatever you’re cooking for a while. Pretty convenient” 

“Exactly! I could place my hand in a very hot oven and I wouldn’t get burned” Chanyeol beamed. “My jewelry would melt off, but I wouldn’t be scarred or burned or anything like that.” 

~ 

Ten people gathered in the conference room of a brand new building in the heart of the city. “Last night, Cronus brought up a very interesting point, regarding those four people who killed Crius and Iapetus at the club,” Rhea suddenly spoke. “Especially the girl.” 

“Her power is nearly limitless, but so are the powers of the other three” Tethys said. 

“I hope your...association with the girl doesn’t get in the way of our plan, Rhea” Mnemosyne, a middle-aged woman with a gray streak in her hair spoke. 

“It will not get in the way” Rhea said flatly. “She is what she is because of us. She’ll remember soon enough. Why she fights the way she does.” 

“Ah, so you have turned her into a weapon,” Hyperion grinned, looking rather impressed. “How can you be sure she will remember that she is on our side?” 

“Oh she will,” Rhea nodded, looking at the doors. “She will, once she finds out the story.” 

The rest of them were quiet, and Cronus and Rhea turned to each other, wondering whether or not to say it. They nodded knowingly. “Mirae, we took her in because we saw that she was something special. She had just turned into an adult when she became part of the family, after all those electroshock therapy sessions messed up her memories of us,” Cronus explained. “She knows how to wield each and every kind of weapon out there, but she prefers to use only a bo staff.” 

“She will prove to be useful to us, unknowingly of course. Those memories will come to her, right, Mnemosyne?” Rhea turned to the woman, who nodded. 

“The right words are all it takes” she said. “She’ll be able to do what we have planned for her to do. Unless, some power is needed to make her remember?” 

Rhea smiled. “I’ve planned for that of course. A person’s biggest weakness lies in their loved ones.” 

~ 

Junhong suddenly burst into the dining area, looking proud. “I have done it. I think.” he declared to the four of them, who were eating noodles. 

“Good morning to you too” Chanyeol said. 

“What did you find?” Hyuk asked, his hand held out to catch the sugar shaker that was floating in his direction. Jaehwan stared at him, then went back to his food. 

“I managed to do some digging, and some more digging and even more digging,” Junhong began. “Until I found that a facility belonging to the Atlas Financial Group suddenly shut down last year, around the same time as the whole incident?” he explained. “If this was in any way tied to what the Prince was doing, then the Prince is smart, he made sure someone, anyone would be able to continue where he left off in case he would be defeated.” 

“Great, so where’s this facility?” Jaehwan asked. 

“You’ll never be able to guess where it is” Junhong gave Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol a knowing look, and the three of them looked surprised. 

“No way” Chanyeol gaped at him. “No way!...Wait, where exactly is it?” 

“That old rickety building where the goblin court was?!” Mirae said. 

“Or was it in that big old library down at the Esteholm?” Hyuk asked, and Junhong shook his head at his answer. He gaped at the younger male again, upon reading his mind. “But how-how could they-” 

Jaehwan looked confused. “I don’t know what you’re all talking about but I am just as surprised” he said. 

“Wait, where is it?!” Mirae asked, starting to get impatient. 

“It’s underground,” Junhong answered. “Where we used to train the two of you” he said to Chanyeol and Mirae, who gaped at him as well. “I don’t know how they did it, but if they managed to do it, they must have gained access to the levels through a lot of digging, a lot of manpower...or goblin power” 

“Goblin power? You mean there are more of them?!” Chanyeol stared at him. 

“It’s possible. Goblins are bred after all, like seeds buried in the ground. What you managed to take on during that day was just, possibly half of their total population” Junhong explained. 

“They might be using whatever technology that could still be salvaged to control and do something with the people that disappeared” Jaehwan said. 

“Professor Jang must have known where he put up the Center, because how did they manage to get a hold of the training room?" Chanyeol said. Not even Junhong could answer. "So, what's the gameplan, then?" he asked. 

“What else? We go in there” Mirae answered. “We’re running out of time” 

“And it’s only been a day” Jaehwan groaned at the thought. So many things had happened in a short amount of time. “It feels like a week’s went by” 

“How are we going to go in there by the way? Aside from digging through piles of rubble?” Hyuk asked. 

“That’s the challenge. We need to find the entrance. I’ll try and look for some underground maps, all the four of you have to do is wait until something comes up” Junhong explained. 

That made Jaehwan cover his face. “Oh no. I just realized that today’s my finals for class… I have to go back” he said, standing up. “I need this to graduate, and,” he looked up at the clock. “I have to be there in three hours” 

“We’ll take you back” Mirae nodded, reaching for his hand. “You won’t be late.” 

Junhong looked at the four of them. “Please stick together. The four of you are what the city needs right now” he said. “Whether they know it or not.” 

~ 

Bom was fretting in her seat later that morning. “I can’t stop thinking about Jaehwan. I just remembered that his finals are today” she muttered when Dongwook took her in his arms. 

“It’s too dangerous outside,” He looked out the window. There were still a lot of people walking around the streets, but it wasn’t as busy as it usually was anymore. “What can we do? You know what Jihoon said.” 

Bom pulled away and stood up. “I’m going to Jaehwan’s finals. We can’t not be there” she said, determination evident in her tone. “Dongwook, let’s go get ready to leave” 

“What if something happens to you? You can’t just leave” Chanyeol’s mother said, overcome with concern. 

“We can only hope. We can’t stay in here this whole time. We’re not trapped in a war” Bom insisted. 

Jiho hesitated for a moment, then stood up as well. “If we’re going out of here, we should at least be prepared. It’s only been a day. We’ll all have our phones on, right?” he looked around the room. 

Jihoon had been charging his in case Mirae would call or text. “We could pick each other up when we’re done doing what we have to do” he suggested, but he wasn’t sure if that would work. 

“Okay then,” Chanyeol’s mother agreed. “I’ll be on the lookout.” 

Jiho turned to Jihoon. “You must be late for school, come on, let’s get ready” he said, and Jihoon got up from his spot. 

They had all agreed to watch out for each other as they left the restaurant. Bom and Dongwook proceeded to their home first to change into more suitable clothes for the event, while Jiho took Jihoon to his school. 

Bom and Dongwook were asked to be Jaehwan’s guardians while his real parents were away. When he became an adult, he was asked to choose if he would want to come back home or stay in Seoul, and he chose the latter. His parents had a business to run in his hometown, but Jaehwan was intent on pursuing his dream career of being a singer, or at least someone in the industry. Both sides were supportive of his decision, most especially Bom, who had helped him in his singing. 

This was something that Jaehwan kept in mind now more than ever, as Chanyeol pulled up in front of his home. “Jaehwan!!” He heard someone call him as he scrambled inside. Before he could register what was going on, he saw the figures of his guardians standing by the door, and he immediately went up to them in a tight hug. “Jaehwan, I’m so glad you’re here and safe” Bom’s eyes were filled with tears at the sight of him. “I thought something happened to you, we were so worried” 

“You scared us, kiddo” Dongwook looked just as worried and relieved. 

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t use my phone, they might come after you or us, and they won’t hesitate to go both” Jaehwan said, overcome with emotion as well. 

“Jihoon told us what’s going on, but I’m so glad you’re alright” Bom hugged him tightly once Dongwook let go. 

Jaehwan pulled away and pulled them inside their house and closed the door. He sprinted up the stairs to his room to get his guitar. He didn’t have time to change his clothes, he was going to be late if he stayed long enough. Bom and Dongwook knew it too, as they hurriedly changed while he waited for them. “How did you get here?” Dongwook asked him as they climbed down the stairs. 

“Chanyeol. He’s parked outside. Mirae and Hyuk are with me too” Jaehwan replied, pacing in front of the tv. 

Once they were all ready, they rushed out of the house and locked the door, stopping in front of their respective cars. “You can ride with us, Jaehwan” Bom said to him. 

“It’s too risky. If they’re trying to track us down, they’ll be coming after you too” Jaehwan said. “I don’t want you to get hurt” 

Bom could feel her heart sink, and Dongwook gave Jaehwan a sad smile. “Okay. Be careful, kid” he advised him, pulling him into a hug for a moment, Bom joining in, before pulling away. “Save the world” he whispered. 

Jaehwan felt a sense of pride in his chest as he stared at his two guardians. He nodded and hurriedly got in the car, upon realizing how much time had passed. He watched them get in the car and drive away as well. “You alright?” Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae looked at him. 

“Y-yeah, we need to hurry, the performance starts in 45 minutes” Jaehwan patted Chanyeol’s shoulder. The fire-controller started to drive away, partly tailing the car that had his guardians inside, until they had arrived at the entrance of the university. 

“You go, we’ll park the car” Mirae patted his hand and he nodded, scrambling out of the car to run inside the building. 

“No one’s tailing us, right?” Chanyeol turned to Hyuk. 

The telekinetic looked out the window and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to feel a presence. “No, no one’s tailing us” he said as they parked the car in the university parking lot. “We should watch our backs all the same” he said to both of them. 

~ 

Jaehwan felt a sense of dread and at the same time excitement as he had arrived at the classroom where everyone had to assemble first. “Jaehwan-ah, where were you? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours last night” his classmate Doyoung said to him upon seeing him. 

“Hmm? Yeah, sorry, I’ve been working on something else, but I’ve practiced enough for our performance today” Jaehwan replied, taking out his guitar and tuning it. 

Doyoung raised a brow at him. “That’s what I was trying to call you about! We decided on a different song and I wanted to tell you but you weren’t picking up” he said. 

Jaehwan froze. “What?! What song is it? What song?!” he immediately asked, his heart pounding. If he could only tell Doyoung what he had really been up to. “How long until we have to perform?” 

But just before Doyoung could tell him, their teacher walked in. “Everyone, let’s head on down to the concert area, and do our best, okay?” she cheered them on, and Jaehwan watched his classmates leave the room excitedly. Today would be his last day of university, and he didn’t want to mess it up. As he tuned his guitar alongside Doyoung upon leaving the room, a man, dressed in black and with the mark of the Utopians on his hand, held up his phone to talk. 

“The fourth is here. He’s moving to the concert area. You know what to do” he said into the phone, and disappeared behind the fire escape. 

~ 

“You know it’s been a long time since I set foot in a school,” Chanyeol told Hyuk and Mirae as they occupied the seats at the very back. “Of course that was around...3 or 4 years ago…” he muttered. 

Hyuk and Mirae laughed. “I haven’t set foot in a school much longer than that, really...but I’m making up for it” she said. 

“Online classes? That’s nice. I just found my own way after high school” Hyuk said. “That’s how I got to work at the store while sending out my mixtapes” he grinned. 

“And now you have a studio of your own, with your best friend” Mirae smiled. Hyuk beamed at the thought. They turned their attention back to the stage when they noticed a group of people had already appeared, including Jaehwan, who was looking particularly nervous. Once they had introduced themselves, the three of them clapped and cheered from their seats. 

Jaehwan and his group had started playing, and the three of them looked surprised. “Guy can sing” Mirae said. She glanced at Hyuk. “I see an opportunity for him to join you” 

Hyuk nodded at the idea, glancing back at her. “I might just. I’ll tell Jiho, when I can get a hold of him anyway” he muttered. “I hope he’s doing alright, I hope everyone’s doing alright” his expression dropped slightly. 

“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask,” Mirae said quietly. Hyuk looked at her. “You’re a psychic right? You must hear a lot of voices” she said. 

Hyuk nodded slightly, his expression dropping even more. “All the time ever since it came. I don’t hear your thoughts, though” he said. “But I can hear everyone else’s, including Chanyeol and Jaehwan’s-” he suddenly looked up at the building. 

“Stage is secure” 

“I can’t see the other three” 

“One of them’s on stage” 

“They will die” 

Hyuk stared at the building, and he noticed three figures dressed in black in the topmost floor. He closed his eyes. “Jaehwan, they’ve tracked us down. We’ll take care of it, just keep playing” he said to the younger male telepathically. Chanyeol and Mirae noticed that Jaehwan suddenly scanned the crowd as he continued playing, for a sign of the three of them. 

“What’s going on?” Chanyeol asked. 

“We’ve been followed, or they’ve planted some people in the school. We need to do something, and as much as possible, try not to attract too much attention” Hyuk muttered quietly to them. 

They slowly backed away from their seats, walking briskly towards the entrance of the building where Hyuk saw the figures. “It’s a few floors up, we won’t be able to reach them in time” Chanyeol looked up the staircase. 

“Which is why we’re going to use the elevator” Mirae pressed the button. The doors opened and out came a couple who looked at them weirdly. The three of them got in. 

“Does anyone have a plan?” Chanyeol asked, as they waited to get on their floor. 

Mirae and Hyuk looked at each other, and then at Chanyeol. “I told Jaehwan to continue playing. We just have to try and not attract so much attention while we’re up here” Hyuk said. 

They raised a brow at him. “How are we even going to do that without attracting attention?” Mirae asked. “Without damaging school property?” she quickly added. 

Hyuk shrugged. “I guess we’ll just have to see how this turns out. No powers, Mirae” he said to her, and she nodded. “Take it easy on the fists of fire, hmm?” he turned to Chanyeol. 

“How else am I supposed to fight?” Chanyeol asked, but eventually nodded after figuring it out. “Okay, I’m not sure we know what we’re going to do but I’ll just go with what you’re planning” 

The elevator doors suddenly opened and to their surprise, a dozen figures in black were surrounding them. Mirae, Hyuk, and Chanyeol stared at them. “I’m guessing your memo didn’t just reach Jaehwan” Mirae said through gritted teeth. 

“Hey, it’s us!” Chanyeol grinned, stepping out of the elevator, trying to look as confident as possible. “The boys! And the girl” he said. 

In an instant, Hyuk held up his palm, fingers spread out. The dozen stood still, frozen, and they could see their efforts on trying to move. “Uh uh uh, not so fast. I see you’re trying to kill us?” he pushed them back as he stepped forward. 

“That is an understatement” One of them grunted, trying to move a fist. 

Chanyeol and Mirae watched them. “Who do you work for?” he asked. No one said anything but instead grunted. 

“Mirae look out!” Hyuk was about to raise his other hand when a sound of ricocheting metal came up, hitting one of the figures in the head dead. Mirae already had her staff unsheathed, and another figure had appeared at the end of the hall, holding a gun. It was an older man, with a sliver of gray hair peeking out of his hood. 

“So you three are the special ones I have been hearing about,” the man’s voice was calm and very cold. “Ones with, abilities” 

Hyuk could tell he was smiling, but he maintained his focus on restraining the guards that surrounded them. Mirae kept her guard up, as did Chanyeol, whose hands had already been engulfed in blue flames. “Come to kill us too, have you?” he asked. 

“You are very perceptive, Mr. Kwon,” the man said, and Hyuk’s eyes widened a little. “Knowing your abilities, I would have expected nothing less,” 

Mirae’s gaze shifted from the hooded man to Hyuk, who was already starting to falter in his concentration. It wouldn’t be long before Hyuk would be unable to keep them steady. Chanyeol could sense it as well. 

The man was getting closer, and the more Hyuk knew he was smiling. “The four of you seem to think that you have the upper hand, but I will tell you now that you don’t,” he said, almost mockingly. He pointed the gun to Mirae’s head. “I pull the trigger, the girl dies, during which both of you will be violently ripped apart without anyone knowing. I can feel your strength fading, psychic,” he glanced at Hyuk. “Release them from your grip or the girl dies” 

Hyuk hesitated. “Don’t” Mirae suddenly said, then closed her eyes for a moment when the man pressed the barrel of the gun to her forehead. 

Chanyeol had seen this before, seen Mirae get hurt before, even the most fatal of wounds. He knew that she could take a bullet to the head if it meant keeping the men under control. However, that didn’t stop him from wanting to attack, to watch her back just as much as she had his and Hyuk’s and Jaehwan’s. “Hyuk, keep the hold, I have a plan” he thought, hoping that Hyuk would hear, and he did. 

“Well? You wouldn’t want us to be here all day, would you?” the man observed the three of them. “One of us is bound to make the first move.” 

Hyuk glared at the man, trying to control his urge to attack. However, before he could do anything, a gunshot was heard, but to his surprise, the bullet was only pressing into Mirae’s forehead, still intact, and she uninjured. She looked at the man in surprise and then at the bullet, which was only hovering against her forehead until it soon shot through the man through the throat instead. He fell to the ground. “What the-” 

But Hyuk’s hold had loosened, and the men started to attack them. “You really have to learn how to punch, Hyuk” Mirae kicked and hit three men with her staff, while Chanyeol was getting cornered by five more. “Chanyeol-” 

“I know what you’re thinking” he said, and the two of them backed up against Hyuk as they beat the rest of the attacking men, trying to keep up with the music that was playing. “You think we can clean up all these bodies when we’re done with them?” 

“That’s a question we’ll have to answer later” Mirae’s eyes started to glow, and they could see some of them gaping at how she looked. She kicked a few of them away, sending them all the way to the end of the hall. Hyuk made sure to stay behind them, but at the same time, raised his hand, sending one of them in the air, and closed his fist hard. The man’s body twisted and the sounds of bones cracking could be heard, and he slammed the man against the wall, causing it to crack. 

“Am I too late?” They suddenly saw Jaehwan standing by the staircase. He didn’t bother looking for an answer as he immediately charged at the remaining men, throwing them off of Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Mirae. 

“Keep one, we’ll make him talk” Hyuk said. The string of banners hanging on the ceiling suddenly came loose and started wrapping itself around the wrists of the man Jaehwan was trying to beat up. Another string of banners came off as well, wrapping itself around the man’s legs. 

Chanyeol hurriedly pressed the elevator button, kicking away one of the men and ducking just in time when they tried to stab him with a dagger. “Jaehwan, you’re going to have to go back there, we’ll see you at the restaurant” he said, punching another guy in the face. 

“Alright,” Jaehwan nodded, groaning in pain when he crashed into a wall next to the fire extinguisher. There was a giant crack, and he fell down, getting back up right away. “Do you guys do this a lot? This is fun and painful at the same time” 

“Never took you for someone who felt pain with all that strength” Chanyeol said, pressing a red-hot hand onto another man’s face, leaving him with a palm-shaped burn. 

“I’m not completely invulnerable” Jaehwan punched another man, who was trying to get up and kicked his side for good measure. “I wouldn’t be able to survive dismemberment” 

“Have you tried getting dismembered? It’s not cool” Mirae knocked three men out with her staff. 

“Wait, you’ve already had that?!” Jaehwan looked completely shocked at her revelation, but it didn’t distract him from kicking away another attacker. 

“Elevator, now” Hyuk said once they heard the bell, and Chanyeol jumped in, holding the doors open for them before the others got up. Mirae followed, and then Hyuk, the tied man, and Jaehwan, and the doors closed in front of them. 

~ 

Jaehwan rushed back towards the backstage, seeing Bom and Dongwook look on eagerly at his classmates who were playing on stage. He sprinted back to the waiting area. “What happened to you?” Doyoung asked him, noticing the scratches on his arm and his tousled hair. 

“What you mean what happened to me?” Jaehwan tried to sound casual. 

“Did you get into a fight or something? You look messed up” Doyoung pointed to the scratches on his arm and then at his hair. 

“No, no, I had to get something” Jaehwan shook his head, pulling down his sleeve. 

“Are you alright? What’s going on with you?” Doyoung eyed him weirdly. “You don’t answer your phone and now you look like you’ve been picking a fight with some people” 

Jaehwan froze. He heard some wires being cut from the ceiling covering the stage. Sparks were suddenly coming from the stage lights and the bars holding up the ceiling were starting to come off. “Hold that thought” he noticed the crowd starting to run away, including his classmates who were performing, and sprinted back onto the stage, catching the ceiling just in time. “Go, go, I can hold this, go!” he yelled at his classmates, who ran, covering their heads just in case. 

Jaehwan looked around to see if there was anyone else inside, and let go, the layers of wood from the ceiling breaking apart when it hit his head as he got down from the stage. “Is everyone okay?” he looked around at the shocked expressions of everyone who was present. He brushed the dust off his clothes and his hair, looking to see if anyone had gotten injured. The medics had arrived and they were also gaping at Jaehwan, amazed at how he had gotten out without a scratch. His teacher, Doyoung, Bom and Dongwook were also present. 

“Dude” Doyoung was unable to say more, slowly nodding to which Jaehwan assumed that he had figured it out. He noticed some had their phones out and had likely taken pictures of him by now. 

Jaehwan glanced at Bom and Dongwook, who looked shocked. His teacher suddenly went up to him, making his guardians rush up to him as well. “Jaehwan, are you alright?” his teacher said, gesturing for the medics to come over. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine” he backed away. “Excuse me, I just need to..” he stepped back and broke into a run, leaving his guitar in the scene. He didn’t have time to come back for it now. Jaehwan ran as fast as he could out of the campus. 

~ 

The car pulled up in front of the restaurant. Chanyeol rushed out and knocked on the door. “Mom, dad, it’s me” he called out. “It’s me, please let us in” 

“Shouldn’t we interrogate this guy somewhere else?” Mirae asked Hyuk, glancing at the man next to her in the backseat. 

“This is the best place to do it. We’ll avoid property damage that way, even if Junhong can work his magic” Hyuk nodded. “We’re trying to do this as discreetly as possible, Mirae. This isn’t like the Center anymore” he looked back at her. 

Mirae frowned a little. “I know it isn’t, but I’m thinking it’s because the people we love are in here, hmm? Jiho? He’s staying here” 

Hyuk looked down. He nearly forgot why he told Jiho to stay in the restaurant along with the rest of their loved ones, including Jihoon, whom he knew Mirae protected fiercely. He opened the window. “I don’t think anyone’s there” he called out to Chanyeol, who was still knocking on the door. 

Jaehwan had arrived as well, a little out of breath. “Hey guys, I’m here-whoa” he noticed the man who was still in the car with them. 

“Yeah, get in, no one’s there” Chanyeol said. 

Jaehwan hesitated for a moment, then got in, squeezing himself next to Mirae and the man they bound and gagged. Chanyeol got back inside as well. “Where to?” he asked. 

Mirae turned to Hyuk, who looked at Chanyeol, who looked back at Mirae. “No one’s around, and it’s all a pile of rubble” she said. She glanced at the man next to her. “Once we get him to talk, we’ll figure out a way inside that place. We needed a guide anyway” she suggested. 

“Excellent, let’s go” Jaehwan patted Chanyeol’s shoulder as he started to drive away. 

~ 

“Another error in judgment. Perhaps sending in these men wasn’t the wisest thing to do,” Rhea looked down at all the bodies on the floor. “Dearest,” she called for Cronus, who went up to her. 

“Even our best assassin was unable to succeed,” he said, stepping back from the pool of blood next to the body of the man holding a gun. Cronus shook his head. 

“Then he isn’t our best assassin” Rhea pointed out, her expression stiffening. “No matter, once more tests are completed, we’ll be ready to run this city into the ground.” She turned to her husband then looked out at the university grounds, where people were cleaning up the stage. “His royal highness would be pleased at what we’ll be achieving in a matter of days” 

Cronus took his phone out. He smiled at what he saw. “We have them right where we want them now, dear” he showed her the message on his phone. “A new world order would be coming sooner than we thought.” 

“Utopia” 

“Utopia” 

They looked back at the two men behind them. “Inform the rest about the next phase of our plan. We’ll meet them at our backup location.” 

“Yes, Cronus” they said with a bow and left. 

Cronus gave a satisfied smile as he looked on. “It won’t be long either before Mirae remembers the one word that will turn her into a weapon. If we do this correctly, she’ll be the one who will rip them apart.” 

“You never were willing to get your hands dirty” Rhea pointed out. “Always getting Hyperion to do your dirty work.” 

“Why should I? With this much power I can afford to get other people to do it for me, even you” Cronus grinned, slightly teasing. 

Rhea chuckled. “We’ll become more powerful soon enough. With the gold waiting to be discovered and the immense manpower we’ve acquired, we will be treated like royalty in this world, this city.” 

“And that is just the beginning, my love,” Cronus smiled. “Next step is immortality. The gold we’ll get our hands on is special” 

~ 

“I left my guitar back there, and I don’t know if I’ll still be able to graduate after what’s happened” Jaehwan frowned as he looked out the window. 

“To be fair, we did tell you to stick around” Chanyeol turned a sharp corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with another car. “But at this point, whether or not you graduate won’t matter because there are other things to worry about” he drove down a familiar road. He parked in front of what was left of the gates. “We’re here.” 

The car doors suddenly opened and the man that they took hostage flew out, Hyuk following behind, closing the car doors once Jaehwan, Chanyeol, and Mirae were out of the car. Mirae took the gag out of his mouth and threw it aside. “Talk” he said, with a strange coldness in his voice. 

The man only spat on the ground in front of their feet. “I think he needs a little convincing” Mirae said, glancing at Chanyeol. 

“Do we need to play the torture game with you?” Chanyeol asked the man. “Who do you work for? What are they doing in what used to be the Center for Paranormal Research for, and what are they doing to the people they kidnap?” he asked. 

“It’s a secret that I will take to the grave” the man spat again. “What you are trying to uncover, is like opening Pandora’s box” 

Mirae felt something inside her tick at his words. She backed away, closing her eyes. It was like a headache, like something she never wanted to hear. 

“What are we uncovering? Why are they doing all this?” Hyuk demanded. “Answer my questions and we’ll let you live, I don’t care if you’re one of those who disappeared weeks ago, if you’re planning to cause danger to the city and maybe even the whole country itself, I’m going to hurt you worse” 

“Pandora’s box” the man started cackling, and Mirae stepped back even more, clutching her head all of a sudden. 

The words seemed to have resounded in her head like an echo. It was making whatever was inside her tick, it was painful, it was like hearing nails on a chalkboard, it was like she was being taken away from herself, her instincts and rational thinking being taken away from her as the words had somehow translated itself to something else: Kill. 

“What are you saying?!” Hyuk said angrily, grabbing him by the collar, but before the man would laugh any more, blood gushed out of the corner of his mouth as a metal staff pierced through his body. He backed away, and saw that Mirae took it out, her expression cold and blank. “Mirae…” he stared at her. “Mirae… what did you do” he said quietly, figuring that something was up with the way she looked at them. 

“Mirae…” Chanyeol and Jaehwan took a step back as Mirae cleaned the blood off her staff with the hem of her coat. 

“I think something happened to her” Jaehwan said quietly, eyeing Hyuk. “She doesn’t normally do that, right?” 

Hyuk and Chanyeol shook their heads. “She’s never killed a person. Goblin, yes, but human, never” Chanyeol replied. 

“She was acting all weird earlier, didn’t you notice?” Hyuk said to the two of them. “Like she was having a headache and getting twitchy” 

“Yeah…” Chanyeol and Jaehwan nodded. 

Hyuk turned back to Mirae. She stared at him. “Mirae, it’s me-” He suddenly found himself flying ten feet away from them, landing on the ground with a thud. “Mirae” he called out, and saw that her eyes and fingertips were already glowing. “Something’s wrong.” 

“You think?” Chanyeol glanced at him, and then back at Mirae. “Mirae,” he rolled to one side, avoiding getting hit by her staff as she attacked. “It’s me, it’s me, hey” he rolled to another side, dodging another strike. “Hey!” he held the other end of the staff just in time, his fists clenched. “Don’t make me melt this off, I know you love this but if you don’t get some sense into yourself, I’ll have to do it” he said.

Jaehwan took this as an opportunity to get a hold of her, but to his surprise, he crashed onto the gate, taking it off its hinges. He quickly got up and ran towards her, tackling her with all the strength he could muster. Mirae squirmed and groaned, trying to wriggle free, but Jaehwan held her down. “Mirae, it’s me, it’s me, remember? Jaehwan?” he looked into her eyes.

Hyuk stared at Mirae as he approached them. He could suddenly hear her thoughts, see through her mind. “We need to get her to Junhong” he said. “I think I have an idea of what happened to her” he said. The ropes that bound the dead henchman came apart and tied Mirae up. She continued to groan and squirm, but the ropes were tightening. He went up to her and pressed a finger to her forehead. 

“What are you going to do?” Jaehwan asked, watching him. 

“I-I don’t know, but I’m hoping it’s going to work” Hyuk said, and he stared at Mirae again. ‘Sleep’ he said to her telepathically. 

Jaehwan suddenly froze, sensing that something was coming. “What the-” he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Chanyeol turned around and before he noticed what happened to Jaehwan, he was knocked out as well. 

“It seems that I may have overestimated the four of you,” a woman in a scarlet hood appeared from behind the gates. She was followed by one other figure dressed in black and holding what seemed like a tiny crochet needle. “You’re a lot more vulnerable than I thought,” she tutted. 

Hyuk turned around slowly. “I had a feeling we weren’t alone.”

“For a telepath, you didn’t even see me coming” the woman said. “You didn’t even anticipate what Mirae was going to do, but I did” she added. 

“Who are you?” Hyuk said quietly. He was trying to figure that out for himself as well, looking through her memories. 

“Why don’t you figure that out for yourself? I can sense that you’re trying to read my mind” she replied, and he could tell she was grinning. 

Hyuk was doing just that but all of a sudden, his expression turned from anger to shock. He knew who she was. But before he could say anything, another dart hit him on the neck and he fell to the ground.


	5. Five

Hyuk slowly opened his eyes. He was inside a room, a room full of shelves that had files and a desk. He was lying down on something soft, a couch. He touched his neck, feeling where he had been hit earlier, and it made him sit up, suddenly alarmed at what happened to them. Chanyeol and Jaehwan were on the floor, just as knocked out as he was earlier. He heard a lot of people talking outside the room they were in. 

Chanyeol shot up as well, nearly hitting his head on the coffee table next to him. “What-what-where-” he panted, looking around, throwing off the blanket that was covering him. 

The noises the fire controller was making made Jaehwan wake up as well. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at both of them. “I did not see this coming” he groaned. “What just happened” he sighed, then looked around again, looking just as alarmed as Hyuk was. “Where’s Mirae?” 

“They took her. The one who did this to us,” Hyuk explained. “They knew something about her, she has a trigger and they knew what could bring that out of her” 

“Like if someone says a certain word, she suddenly turns into this stone-cold assassin?” Jaehwan asked, and Hyuk nodded. “Then there must have been something that guy we were trying to get answers from said. She got like that when he started talking, remember?” 

Chanyeol nodded. “I know, she got all twitchy and weird, until she killed him” he said. “Where are we anyway?” he slowly got up to his feet, fixing his hair. 

“Police station. Some cops must have seen us lying there” Hyuk answered, looking out the window. 

“We need to look for Mirae” Jaehwan got to his feet as well, running a hand through his hair. 

The door suddenly opened an officer, whose name plate read Kim Byunghun, came in, followed by another officer, whose name plate read Ahn Sohee. “Oh, the three of you are now awake” Byunghun looked at the three of them. 

“We were going to call some paramedics but I guess that wouldn’t be necessary” Sohee added. 

Hyuk stepped forward. “Officers, believe us when we say we weren’t under the influence of drugs when you found us earlier.” 

“Oh no, no, we figured it out from the way the three of you looked and from what we managed to obtain” Sohee held up a small ziplock bag full of tiny needles. “Darts. You have been shot” she said. 

“Yeah, we felt that before we got knocked out” Chanyeol said. 

“Did you see anyone? Anyone who may have done it?” Sohee asked them. 

Chanyeol and Jaehwan glanced at each other. Hyuk shook his head. “We didn’t see anyone” he said. 

“We got knocked out before we could see who it was” Jaehwan added, rubbing the part of his neck where the dart got him. He knew someone was there, but he wasn’t able to see the culprit’s face. 

Sohee and Byunghun glanced at each other. “We really need the three of you to tell us everything. I know what the three of you are doing, and we’re all on the same side here” Byunghun said. 

Chanyeol, Jaehwan, and Hyuk exchanged looks. “Wh-what?” They said. 

“It’s not the first time someone’s tried to take matters into their own hands before. Last year’s attack is a prime example, and the two of you look incredibly familiar” Sohee looked at Chanyeol and Hyuk. “Did you two happen to be part of those people who stopped the attack last year?” 

Chanyeol and Hyuk froze. “Are we going to be arrested? The city was cleaned up, wasn’t it? The damages were fixed and went back to normal?” Chanyeol blurted out. 

Sohee and Byunghun chuckled. “Yep, we figured you two would. You did help save the lives of thousands of people, but no one ever got to thank you for it.” 

The two men just smiled. “It’s not something we could be thanked for.” Hyuk said quietly. 

“Modesty’s not going to work with us here. Now tell us what’s going on and what we can do” Sohee cut them off. 

“If we tell you what’s going on, you’ll be in danger. The more people who know, the bigger the trouble it would be for all of you” Jaehwan said, feeling a big sigh of relief, but he was still a little wary of the two police officers in front of them. 

The two officers smiled. “Danger is an occupational hazard. Now, tell us, or we won’t let you out of here” Byunghun insisted. 

~ 

Mirae slowly opened her eyes. She felt like she was back to her normal self. She noticed the blood on her coat, and some bits of it under her fingernails. The cold concrete that she was lying down on was enough to wake her up. Mirae sat up, feeling around for her staff but it was no longer on her. She couldn’t remember how she got like this, but she looked around, and she found herself in a familiar place. 

She was in their old group training room underground. Everything seemed to have been restored. This was just like the dream she had. 

“Lee Mirae, I always knew you were extraordinary” a familiar male voice echoed throughout the room. “The past few days have revealed to me just how extraordinary you are” 

Mirae looked around as she got to her feet. “Show yourself” she managed to say. 

“You’ve long wondered who was behind all these disappearances, all the bad things happening over the past months since the attack on Seoul, who the Titans were,” the voice continued. “How long we’ve been around, all that jazz” 

Mirae tried to focus on where the voice was coming from. The control room she knew was up above was dark. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?” she said. 

“My child, I lead them.” 

“But why? Why are you doing all this?” Mirae asked. 

“This place is heavily populated. You’ve seen what’s going on in the Blue House, right? We’re just here, to give the city a little cleanse, in blood, and fire.” 

Mirae sighed. “I take it as I’m alone, that you want me to help you, don’t you?” she said. “Well I won’t, you know? This is wrong, so many innocent lives are at risk, and for what? Just so you could, I don’t know, build this city, this country, in your own image?” 

The voice laughed. “Always quick-witted, you were. Unfortunately my dear, whether or not you serve us is not up to you.” 

It was then that the owner of the voice suddenly appeared in front of her. A tall figure wearing a scarlet robe and a hood. The figure removed the hood and to Mirae’s horror, it was Changseok, her own foster father, standing several feet away from her. Another figure appeared, and removed their hood. It was Miran, her foster mother. Mirae could feel her heart sink. Anger, rage, shock, confusion filled both her heart and mind as she looked at their faces. They were happy, proud of what they had done. “This-This is why you left me to take care of the store, hmm?” she said quietly. “But h-” 

“How?” Miran asked. “We chose you, that day you came in and asked for work, don’t you remember that? We turned you into who you are, a weapon, not crippled by emotion, and instead a driven warrior who will not hesitate to kill in exchange for serving a higher purpose” 

“Still, I’m never serving you” Mirae said through gritted teeth. 

Changseok chuckled. “It’s really not your decision but ours, my dear. For example, that man you and your allies tried to interrogate earlier? You killed him, as evidenced by all that blood you have on your clothes” 

“Mirae, my child,” Miran went up to her. “Those people you’re trying to save? They don’t deserve you. They aren’t deserving of your skills, of your kindness” she said. “Of your power. Which is why it’s only fitting that you put them out of their misery” 

“This is why you never called, never checked up on me, on Jihoon” Mirae muttered. 

Miran and Changseok smiled. “Of course we kept tabs on you. Youngho’s unknowingly helping us out, you know? As for Jihoon? Well…” they pointed to the control room. The lights went on, and she saw Jihoon in his school uniform and being held at gunpoint. He was crying. 

Mirae felt her heart sink. “Jihoon” she whispered, on the verge of tears. “Why do you have to drag Jihoon into this? He has nothing to do with what you’re planning and what you want with me” she said, her voice laced with concern, and building rage. 

“We won’t hurt Jihoon, but we will take out some insurance if you fail us” Miran said coldly. “I know how much you love him, and that you’re raising him like a good older sister would, it’s admirable,” she added. “But I’m afraid it’s the only way for you to cooperate” 

Mirae could feel hot tears stream down the sides of her face. She swore to herself that she would protect Jihoon at all costs, give him a life that both of them were denied before. She would rather die than allow Jihoon to suffer. “My darling daughter,” Changseok went up to her this time. “This could be very easy, you know? Very comfortable” 

She looked up at Jihoon, who had his eyes shut tight in fear. “You said it yourself. It’s not up to me whether I cooperate or not, right? You don’t have an ounce of humanity in you” 

Changseok just smiled. “Humanity? There are billions of people in the world, a good million is barely scratching the surface” 

~ 

“We’re running out of time, we need to leave before everyone else gets hurt” Hyuk insisted at the two detectives. “Who knows what could be happening out there now” he said. 

Sohee and Byunghun exchanged looks. “Alright, but you have to tell us whatever else we have to know. As much as the city appreciates your service for last year’s attack, the law is still the law and unless you’re a cop, you can’t take matters into your own hands” Byunghun explained to them. 

“What?” Jaehwan looked annoyed. “You ask us to tell you what you need to know and what you can do, and now you’re suddenly changing your minds and telling us that we can’t go? You don’t know what you’re up against, what they are capable of. We’re the only ones who can pull this off” he insisted. He nearly pounded his fist on the desk but Chanyeol held him back. 

“They’ve been turning the people who disappeared into their own soldiers, brainwashing them and everything” Chanyeol added. 

Sohee and Byunghun exchanged looks again, then gestured to leave the room to talk. The three men turned to each other. “What do we do now? We don’t have much time, who knows what they’re making Mirae do down there” Jaehwan panicked. 

Chanyeol sighed. “It’s times like these where I wish we could teleport. You don’t happen to know how to teleport, would you?” he looked at the two of them, and they shook their heads. “Alright, then why don’t you do your telepathy thing to them?” he rounded on Hyuk. 

“What do you mean telepathy thing?” 

“You know, that thing you always do with us. Read our minds, talk to us in our heads” Chanyeol said. 

“I read minds and do that, I don’t exactly control minds...then again if I could I would have done it already” Hyuk said. 

“Just try?” Jaehwan asked. “Come on, if not, we’ll resort to plan b” he pointed to the sprinkler on the ceiling. 

Hyuk nodded. “For Mirae” he said quietly and closed his eyes. He tried to concentrate, hoping that they would be able to hear him. “Release the three. They’re not the people you’d want to keep detained. They’re the key to saving the country” he said telepathically, with a slight shrug. It sounded a little ridiculous to him, but it was worth a shot. He had learned how to tune out the voices and thoughts of other people around him, but he hadn’t quite gotten the hang of getting a message through to more than one person telepathically. 

Jaehwan froze in his place as well. He could hear a familiar voice step inside the precinct. It was approaching their room, and the door suddenly opened. It was Junhong. “Guys” he looked just as worried as they were. 

“How did you know we were here?” Chanyeol said. 

“There’s a tracker on the car, when you didn’t seem to move, I did some looking and I found you here” Junhong replied. “What’s going on?” He closed the door behind him and locked it. 

“They took Mirae, those Titans. It turns out that she had this little trigger in her head-” 

“Some kind of auditory Pavlovian response mechanism?” Junhong asked, and they nodded. 

“She started twitching and acting weird when the man we tried to interrogate started talking” Jaehwan said. 

“What exactly did he say?” 

Chanyeol and Jaehwan shrugged. “We don’t know exactly what it is that triggered her. All we know is that he said that what we’re trying to do is like opening Pandora’s Box or something” the fire controller replied. 

“Pandora’s box” Junhong quickly figured it out, making the two men gape at him. “Well it makes sense for that to be what sets her off...She won’t hear that everyday, because if she did, then the body count by her hand would have been high by now, even Jihoon wouldn’t be safe around her.” 

Hyuk opened his eyes. He had hoped it had gotten through to the two officers outside the room. “When she’s under the trance, her mind is vulnerable. Her abilities allow her to block out any telepathic intrusion but for some reason I could get inside her mind when she was” he suddenly spoke. “I know who is behind all of this, which is why we need to get to her before they can do anything.” 

“Okay, so I’m guessing you got through to them” Chanyeol gestured to the door. 

“I...have no idea” Hyuk shrugged. 

Chanyeol nodded and held up a hand engulfed in flames. “Plan B then” he raised his hand high, high enough for the smoke to reach the sprinkler. The alarms soon went off, and the sprinkler eventually went off as well, showering the whole precinct. They saw the police officers scurry about, trying to save their files and cover the computers on their desks. “Come on. Time to go” he said, opening the door, the four of them creeping out the fire exit. 

They successfully left the station, slightly soaked from the sprinklers. “Okay, we don’t have a car, so how do we go back there?” Chanyeol said. “You didn’t bring one over here, did you?” he asked Junhong, who shook his head. 

“Great, how do we even get to the Center? Dig under piles of rubble?” Jaehwan asked. 

The question made the telekinetic raise a brow in thought. “The facility is built underground, right?” he asked Junhong as well, who nodded. “Where some of the training rooms in the Center used to be, yes?” he checked, and Junhong nodded again as they walked. 

“Before you answer that question, we should go here first” Jaehwan started pushing them towards a cafe upon hearing and seeing police cars drive by the road where they were. They stumbled inside the establishment, full of mostly students and young professionals. They stayed near the doors as they waited for the rest of the police cars to drive by. 

“We don’t have much time, they may be trying to turn their private army loose on the city already” Chanyeol kept looking out the window. 

Junhong lowered his voice. “Alright, I’ll try to work on a way to get rid of the trigger, but from what happened before, I think I may know a way for us to get back in there.” he said. 

~ 

Mirae stared at her foster parents, unsure of what to feel. They had been so kind to her, they had taken care of her, only to find out that they wanted to use her for their own evil means. “I remember the day you came to us,” Miran recalled. “A scared little girl, a teenager who was like a misshapen ball of clay, or a diamond in the rough,” she said. 

“We trained you in many forms of martial arts because we wanted you to know how to defend yourself. The world can be a cruel place after all,” 

“You had so much potential in you. You learned quickly, you adapted, and in time, you had become the best, and when Changseok and I saw that, we knew we made the right choice,” 

“Those electroshock therapy sessions also paid off, you couldn’t remember most of the details of how you know what you know now, your knowledge of wielding various weapons, becoming a weapon yourself” Changseok added. 

She looked down. So that was what it was, how she could do what she had done for the past several years. What hurt even more was the fact that they never really saw her as a daughter. “I am only a weapon to you, yes? Not a daughter?” 

“Oh don’t get all sentimental,” Miran scoffed. “That’s what keeps you weak, keeps you on the side where you have to give a damn about the rules. It’s really so easy to get the best of people when someone they care about is in danger” she gestured up to the control room. The man was already pressing the barrel of the gun onto Jihoon’s temple. More tears were streaming down Jihoon’s face and Mirae felt her heart sink further. 

“Why kidnap those innocent people then? What are you after with all of them? Why turn them into your own minions?” Mirae shifted the subject. 

“I knew you would ask that eventually,” Changseok smiled. He looked up at the control booth. “Press the button, bring us down there” he instructed. 

The man who held Jihoon at gunpoint did as he was told, and a swirl of colors soon appeared, surrounding the three of them. Before they knew it, they were inside what looked like a giant warehouse that had giant grids that reached up to the ceiling. To Mirae’s horror, she saw everyone who was kidnapped, strapped to the grids and unconscious. One by one, they were being led to a machine that would cut open their heads and insert microchips, and branded with the cult’s mark on certain parts. 

“Do you see them? They will share our vision of the world” Miran said, full of pride in their handiwork. “You’ll lead our army into a new age. The warrior, the enforcer, the weapon” 

“You didn’t answer my question” Mirae muttered through gritted teeth. “Why do all this? Power? Money?” 

Her foster parents merely smiled. “This city, this country, was once ours, as it was once a part of the goblin kingdom. We are just trying to take it back.” Changseok replied. 

“This can be yours too you know, if you willingly submit yourself to our new world order.” Miran told her. “You and Jihoon will be treated like the royalty that you are, that you should be” 

Mirae could feel her blood boil from what she was hearing. “I wouldn’t want to be treated like royalty. I would rather live a small life with Jihoon than enslave innocent people. No one deserves to suffer the way you want them to.” She said flatly. 

“Like what happened to your colleagues when you leveled your little Center?” Miran shot, and Mirae stared at her. 

~ 

Chanyeol, Hyuk, and Jaehwan found themselves on a bus. “So where are we going?” Jaehwan whispered to them. 

“A place we haven’t been to in almost 2 years” Chanyeol replied, looking out the window. 

“We’re just as worried about Mirae as the next guy, we’ll get to her” Hyuk assured them, having heard Jaehwan’s thoughts. “Are we ready to take on more of those people, though? I’m not so sure” he said. 

“Dude, you have to learn how to punch and fight or something” Chanyeol told the telepath. “Then again, we could all learn a thing or two from Mirae about that…” 

They soon got down the stop near the record store Mirae worked in. It was busy as they had expected, many walking in and out, some of them holding boxes and boxes of what they figured were cds and posters. They took a moment to watch how things were going. “You ever realize how different everything is now?” Jaehwan asked them. 

“What do you mean?” Chanyeol glanced at him. 

“I mean, a few days ago I was just some music student aspiring to pursue a career in that field, a few days later I’m beating up bad guys, seeing and hearing things a mile away, saving people from big falling things” Jaehwan explained, and they nodded. 

“It was like that when I joined the Center years ago” Chanyeol recalled that day. 

“Me too,” Hyuk nodded. “Well, I did not technically join, but I helped out” he added, making them laugh, before they started walking on. 

“How was it? Staying at the Center? I figured it was like a secret agency or something” Jaehwan asked them as they walked. They never really got around to talking much ever since they met, as the only things they said to each other were about what they had to do. 

Chanyeol smiled at the thought. “One of the best years of my life. There were twelve of us guys, and Mirae and two other girls that had powers. Junhong had five other colleagues working at the lab, and we all got along very well even though there was some tension from time to time” he explained. 

“Later on, our eldest hyung, Ino, who was the son of the man who owned and ran the Center, found out that he had powers too. His powers somehow made him like a god because of what they were,” Chanyeol continued. “He could see events happening before it happens or at the same time, he could be in so many places at once, he could pull everything apart then put them back together. He was really powerful,” 

The farther they walked, the more the scenery began to change. It started to become a little more run-down and gritty. “So what happened to him?” Jaehwan asked. 

“We don’t know. It’s like he suddenly vanished after what happened last year,” Hyuk shrugged. “He may be in hiding somewhere, or he may even be dead. With all that power, I wondered if he was quite invulnerable to harm too” he said. 

“It was for the best, I think. People didn’t take kindly to people like us, with abilities, you know?” Chanyeol looked down for a moment as they pressed on. “I mean, someone threw coffee at Junmyeon hyung after that incident at the train station.” 

“We’re here.” Hyuk stopped, making the two of them skid to a halt as well. They were in front of a run-down apartment building that basically had the front demolished, revealing the many floors. 

Jaehwan noticed the blood spatters on some of the walls, and it gave him that unsettling feeling. He followed Hyuk and Chanyeol inside and up the stairs, where he saw more blood spatters, some of which may have even looked fresh despite having been there the year before. “Do you guys still know the way or something?” he asked the two older men. 

“Vividly” Chanyeol replied, leading them down the hall to the door that led to a dark tunnel. Jaehwan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It must have been in another dimension of its own for a tunnel to appear behind the door of the second floor of a building. The tunnel was dark, and was barely lit, and from the sounds that Jaehwan was hearing, there were creatures scurrying about. “Watch your step” he said, holding up a flaming fist to light the way. 

The fire Chanyeol was holding out turned to be useful for warding off the rats that scurried along the way. Jaehwan nearly screamed after accidentally stepping on a tail, and after one fell on his shoulder. “I don’t suppose you can tell these rats to get off us, right?” he turned to Hyuk, who gave him a look. 

“I’m not all-powerful, Jaehwan” he said, his eyebrows scrunched at the question. They reached the old-fashioned elevator at the end of the tunnel. “And now we go down, down, down” he pressed a button that had bits of dried blood on it, opening the doors. 

The three of them got inside, and there was still that cold draft coming from below. Jaehwan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He was feeling a lot more unsettled the further they got. “This is insane” he mumbled, as Hyuk pressed the button going down. 

Meanwhile back at their hideout, Junhong was fixated on his computer, trying to come up with a way to get rid of the mental trigger placed upon Mirae. “Junhong” a familiar voice soon echoed in the room, making the inventor flinch in surprise. 

“Is someone there?” Junhong looked around, reaching for the gun in the shoebox by the bed. 

“Junhong, it’s me” the voice was inside the room. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how I sound like” the sound suddenly took form, and Junhong’s jaw dropped when he saw who was in front of him. 

“Hyung?”

~ 

“You should be aware that we aren’t entirely different,” Miran told her. “Body counts on both sides? Yes, I know you blame yourself for that” 

“It’s all the more reason for you to be on the same side as us, my child” Changseok patted her shoulder. “But you should know that securing a personal group of warriors is only part of the plan” he said. 

Mirae glanced at him. “What else is there?” She asked. She knew better than to start a fight at this moment. She knew that Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan would be trying to find her at this moment, and once they did, they would be able to stop them with all their powers combined. 

“Madam, someone’s entering the court” one of their thugs suddenly appeared. 

Miran and Changseok nodded. “Tell Hyperion and Thetis to be at the ready” they instructed, and the thug gave a salute before walking off. “It looks like your friends are coming in to save the day. Unfortunately, they would be heavily outnumbered, gifted or not.” Changseok smiled. 

A gunshot and a swirl of colors later, they found themselves inside the training room again. Mirae’s eyes instantly darted up to the control room, where they found a blood splatter on the windows. Her heart was pounding, as she hoped the blood on the window wasn’t Jihoon’s. 

~ 

The elevator had stopped. Hyuk, Chanyeol, and Jaehwan got out and they instantly covered their noses at the smell of rotting goblin corpses as they found themselves in a torch-lit chamber that had a bookshelf that was pushed to the side revealing a secret passage. “If there weren’t any bodies lying around, then this would have been a great hangout spot for us, Junhong could have tricked it out” Chanyeol muttered as they proceeded down the hall with two giant doors at the end that were broken down. 

The walls were busted through, the marble that was initially white was now stained with dried goblin blood. Bodies were floating in the water, some had already turned into skeletons. “Minseok hyung would have cleaned this place out, if he was still around…” Hyuk stepped over some limbs. 

Jaehwan held onto him as he nearly stumbled from the other dismembered bodies of goblins. Chanyeol led them towards the hole on the left side of the court, and they found themselves in a newly built tunnel lined with white lights. Jaehwan bent down and he tilted his head, touching the ground. He could see figures marching beyond the door and onto another door that had a passcode and past that, was a giant warehouse. “This is definitely the way” he said 

“Thanks for the confirmation” Chanyeol said once they pressed on, opening the door and walking a long way again, noticing that the walls were soon draped with red tapestries that had the symbol of the Utopians. “I almost thought this was going to be like in Indiana Jones, where something comes at you with every door you open” he said, being careful of his surroundings as they went forward. 

Hyuk closed his eyes for a moment. “I could feel a presence outside that door” he said quietly. 

“Okay then, this is probably where we come up with a plan. One of us has to find Mirae while the rest of us distract who might catch us in here” Jaehwan suggested. 

“If that fails?” Chanyeol asked him. 

“Then we all fight our way to Mirae together” Hyuk replied flatly. The three of them nodded. 

They stopped in front of the door that had a passcode to open, then turned to Jaehwan. He stepped forward and held onto the knob, pulling it out of the door and kicking it open. They were then faced with a small army of thugs, led by a woman and a man, all dressed in scarlet robes. 

“Okay, which plan?” Jaehwan muttered to the two older men. 

“A” Chanyeol said, and they stood their ground, waiting for them to attack. The thugs started pulling out knives and revolvers, some of them were even carrying spiked clubs. “Okay, this just got more dangerous” he said. 

“Don’t worry hyung, I’ll take care of those” Jaehwan pushed Hyuk out of the way as in a matter of minutes, he had absorbed every attempt at a stab and gunshot, resulting in bent knives and smashed up bullets on the ground. He stared at himself. “Whoa,” he then looked back at them with a smug expression on his face. “My turn” he started kicking and punching some of them while Chanyeol warded the rest of them off when he engulfed himself in fire, even setting some thugs on fire as well. 

“Impressive, impressive” The man and woman stood at the side, having witnessed it all. They removed their robes. 

“We haven’t even started yet” Chanyeol grinned. All of a sudden, the two found themselves in the air as Hyuk took hold of them. 

“Kill us if you want, there will be others, our plans are coming to fruition and there isn’t anything you can do to change it” the man croaked. 

“There’s always something that can be done” Hyuk curled his hand into a fist, and so did the two Titans. The sounds of bones cracking and breaking filled the room, and Chanyeol and Jaehwan stepped back to avoid the blood spatter from when the bones pierced through the skin. Their bodies fell to the floor in a thud, more blood gushing out from their limbs, and the other parts of their bodies. 

Jaehwan cringed and shook his head in disgust. “This is going to smell so bad” he said. 

“Come on, we’re running out of time” Hyuk gestured for them to follow him, only to skid to a halt when they saw what was in front of them. 

The bodies of the kidnapped people were lined up in a conveyor belt, their heads being opened up and being branded in several places. “So this is where they have been…” Chanyeol frowned. “All this time and they were in here…” 

“Would there be a way to save them?” Jaehwan asked quietly. 

“There isn’t much time...those who have been implanted on can’t be saved” Hyuk frowned. He stared at the conveyor belt, trying his hardest to pull it apart from the machine. The belt and the machinery started to shake in its place. 

“Or we can pull that apart, yeah, that we can do too…” Jaehwan nodded, watching Hyuk. The machinery continued to shake, until it started to come off the ground. Sparks started to come out and the machines started to catch fire. 

“Oh no… this place is going to combust or something” Chanyeol stepped back, along with Jaehwan and Hyuk. A swirl of colors soon followed and then they found themselves inside the dark training room, with Mirae and her adoptive parents. The three of them soon felt the cold barrels of pistols being pointed at their necks. 

“Ah, this must be the friends you have Mirae” Miran looked at them with a smile. “I’d really have to hand it to Hyperion and Thetis, they know how to lure our prey” she said. “Put the helmet on the telepath” she instructed, and the man who had Hyuk at gunpoint pushed a helmet made out of very thick metal onto his head, making him groan. “I hope you don’t mind this little precaution, because if you object, then some people will have to suffer for it” she pointed up the control booth. 

Jiho, Bom, Dongwook, and Chanyeol’s sister and parents were next to Jihoon, hands in the air and closing their eyes in fear. “It pays to think a few steps ahead, to know your enemy’s weaknesses and use those against them” Changseok spoke near Mirae’s ear. He glanced at Hyuk. “Oh, you won’t be able to convey your telepathic messages to anyone in this room with that helmet on. It’s made out of the armor the goblins once wore. I believe you’re very familiar with them, hmm?” 

~ 

Junhong drove his car right towards the demolished Center. He held out a small device that was the size of a GPS. “Okay, we’re here. Are you sure you can help me?” he asked the man seated in the passenger seat. 

“Well, if he says I can, then I know I can. Let’s go” the man got out and so did Junhong, and they climbed over the piles of debris and dirt until they reached the top. 

“I programmed this device to at least reach one of the levels. Can you feel anything down there?” Junhong asked the man. 

“Yes, I can. Several floors down, a lot of people underground-” 

They stepped back when a big explosion came from several meters away from the site where the Center was. So many people started to rush out of their homes and buildings as the ground began to shake. Several trees were uprooted and the ground where their car was parked cracked. “Uh oh, we have to hurry.” Junhong turned the knob a few times and the man held his arm, the two of them vanishing. 

They reappeared outside a pair of doors. “Eureka” Junhong nodded in approval. “We’re outside the room” he whispered. 

The man closed his eyes and pressed his palm on the door. 

~ 

“Stand in the way of our plans? One of those people go bye bye” Miran pointed to the control room. 

“Too late” Jaehwan suddenly yelled. “Your army’s dead and gone, you won’t be able to turn more people, dipshit” he said. 

“Oh? But I wasn’t talking about that army, I was referring to this one” Miran gestured to the dark corner of the room, where so many thugs appeared, carrying various weapons. “You’ll find your staff’s no longer with you, you can find it melting in a furnace someplace” she glanced at Mirae. “Open pandora’s box.” she said quietly. 

Mirae could suddenly feel a twitch coming. Miran repeated the words and she started to kneel on the ground, clutching her head. “No” she groaned. Changseok spoke the words this time, making her squirm. 

“Fulfill your destiny” Miran said. “Open pandora’s box” 

“Don’t, Mirae, don’t!” Jaehwan yelled, only to be met by a blow to the head with the revolver pointed at him. “You’re stronger than that! You’re more powerful! Don’t give in!” he kept yelling, but groaned and squirmed as some of the thugs started kicking him. 

“He’s right, Mirae!” Hyuk then yelled this time. Mirae curled up as Changseok repeated the words. “Don’t give in!” he said, but his tone softened the moment Mirae got up. The coldness in her stare had appeared. “No, Mirae no…” he fell to the floor as the thugs started beating him up as well. Chanyeol was getting punched in the face, and being beaten down by a few other henchmen and women. 

“Yes, my warrior, my child” Changseok and Miran beamed at Mirae, who had gotten to her feet. “Kill them, and they’ll live” they pointed to the control room. 

“No” 

Their expressions dropped. “No? Mirae?” Miran raised a brow at her. 

“No, I’d rather kill both of you” Mirae swallowed hard upon saying it, and she punched Miran while kicking Changseok away. Her eyes started to glow and her fingertips as she started to take on the oncoming henchmen that were about to come for her. From spiked club, to metal baseball bat to lead pipe to wrench, Mirae tried to fight her way out. Jaehwan had done the same, breaking the legs of the henchmen that surrounded him. Chanyeol set a dozen on fire as he held his palm up. 

“They’re getting away” Hyuk said quietly, seeing a glimpse of Miran and Changseok crawling their way out of the room. He took advantage of the brawl to remove the helmet and reached out. Miran and Changseok were instantly dragged back into the scuffle as if invisible hands were pulling them. 

Mirae rushed out of the room and went up to the control booth, instantly knocking out the men who held their loved ones at gunpoint. “Jihoon” she rushed over to give him a hug, and she suddenly froze when a few gunshots were heard. 

“Noona?” Jihoon stared at her. Mirae’s expression went blank, and she slid out of his arms and fell to the ground. “Noona…” he could feel tears well up in his eyes again. He turned to Jiho, Bom, Dongwook, and Chanyeol’s family. “Please go ahead,” he said shakily. 

The rest of them looked too stunned to say anything. “The rest of you go ahead” Jiho managed to say as he turned to them. “The other three are trying to fight, they’d want you all to be safe” he said. 

“But what about both of you? We can’t leave you alone” Dongwook looked pained. 

“We’ll be fine” Jiho assured them, and the two parents, along with Chanyeol’s family stepped through. 

Junhong suddenly appeared. “All of you, follow him out,” he gestured to his companion. “What happened? Oh…” he saw Mirae lying on the ground, and bent down to look at the bullet wounds on her back. Jihoon was already crying, draping himself over Mirae’s body. “She’ll be fine, she’ll be okay” he assured the teenager. 

“Are you sure?” Jiho asked, a little worried. “Hyuk’s going to be devastated” he said quietly. 

“I’m sure, look” Junhong saw Mirae’s eyes flutter open, and she blinked a few times. “Mirae, Mirae” he said. 

“Hmm?” She hummed, noticing Jihoon right away. “I hate it when this happens” she groaned, trying to sit up. “Jihoon, Jihoon,” she sat up, gently prying him off, but as Jihoon saw her, he instantly hugged her tightly, still sobbing. “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m fine. See?” she turned back, and picked up the bullets from the spot where she lay. Jiho let out a big sigh of relief.

“You’d probably give me a heart attack” Jiho clutched his chest. 

“I knew it” Junhong smiled at her. “Jihoon, Jiho, you two will want to follow him. He can teleport all of you out of here, I’ll take care of this” he nodded. 

Jiho helped Jihoon up. “Promise me you’ll come out of this alive” Jihoon said to her. 

Mirae wiped his eyes. “I promise.” she nodded, and Jiho brought Jihoon out of the booth. She looked at Junhong and got to her feet. “Who’s he?” she noticed the man who teleported Jiho and Jihoon out of the place. 

“Long story. We’ll really need to destroy this place.” Junhong frowned at the thought. He looked at the brawl from the window. It was still going on, only this time, there were bits of fire in some places, and Hyuk had Miran and Changseok stuck together, using their robes to bind the two of them. 

Mirae looked down. “It was them. They were behind this all along.” 

“I know” Junhong looked apologetically. 

“We’ll need to end them too” Mirae said without hesitation, but she was staring at the faces of her adoptive parents, both of whom looked slightly satisfied and at the same time horrified. 

Junhong stared at her. “Are you sure?” he asked. 

It pained Mirae to think about it. They were the ones who gave her a place to stay, a job, clothing, and food. She owed them a lot. She and Jihoon, owed them a lot. “Yes. I’ll do it” she said. 

The male nodded. “If need be.” he said. 

~ 

“Prison? Or to your death?” Hyuk asked the two of them. Jaehwan and Chanyeol knocked out the remaining thugs at the other side of the room. “Prison seems too light a punishment.” 

Miran and Changseok were cackling. “And you think death isn’t? We don’t need to be around for our plan to succeed. There will be others. You haven’t finished us off entirely” Miran coughed as their robes tightened around her. 

“Oh you would be surprised. We have our ways of finding the others.” Jaehwan glared at them. 

“Ah, my child,” Changseok grinned when Mirae appeared next to Jaehwan. “You have shown us how invulnerable you are to harm, now we’re assured that we’ve made the right choice” his breathing was starting to get strained. 

Mirae stared at them. “I was always invulnerable to harm, I always had these powers, it was why I was in that sanitarium in the first place,” she said quietly. “You’ve given me a roof over my head, clothes to wear, food to eat, a job, taught me what I know,” she picked up the bloodied katana on the ground. 

“You’ve cared for me in your own way, even if it wasn’t genuine” she swallowed. She went closer to them, her eyes glowing and welling with tears, both her hands on the katana. “But your lives are a sacrifice I could take for the millions of people out there” and tears streamed down her face as she plunged the blade into both of them. 

Miran and Changseok squirmed and blood gushed out of their mouths. “We’ll die knowing that we turned you into the person you were meant to be” Miran gagged as more blood gushed out of her mouth. 

“A warrior, a fighter, a mercenary” Changseok smiled, and closed his eyes. The two of them went limp, and Hyuk, Jaehwan, and Chanyeol looked at Mirae, who covered her face as she sobbed. 

Jaehwan pulled her into an embrace as Hyuk lowered their bodies onto the ground. “Guys? We have to leave, we have to leave now, this place is going to explode” Junhong said from the control booth. He hurried down to meet them as they ran out of the room. 

~ 

Jaehwan, Chanyeol, Hyuk, Mirae, and Junhong watched the whole space of land crumble and explode from the nearest building. Everyone stopped to see what was going on, and the police had spread out to make sure everyone was at a safe distance from the blasts. News reporters and camera crew were also on standby to report what happened. They had reunited with their loved ones at the same time as they witnessed the land that was once the Center’s destroyed. 

“We did it again” Junhong said quietly. 

“I suppose we have. So many casualties” Chanyeol muttered. “This time around, it was inevitable” 

“You did what you could” Chanyeol’s mother said to him. “All of you did what you could, sometimes it doesn’t mean everyone gets to live” she said, and Chanyeol leaned on his mother some more.


	6. Final

A few days after the blasts and the explosion, things had somehow gone back to normal. The government decided to clean up the lot that was once the Center, or as it was more known to be, the Ilsan Youth Hostel. There was a memorial service held for the casualties, and the succeeding days were declared holidays to commemorate what happened and the lives that were lost. 

Thanks to Junhong’s hacking, the rest of the surviving members of the Titans were arrested and convicted to life imprisonment under solitary confinement whilst being subject to psychological treatment. It was also thanks to Junhong’s hacking that no one else knew about their involvement, leaving the city, again, with no one else to thank. 

Chanyeol’s parents’ restaurants had opened up again, and he waited on tables as usual. His parents gave him knowing looks, assuring him that he had done a hero’s deed. “We’ll visit the memorial later, okay?” his mom whispered to him as he brought back the dirty dishes. He quietly nodded. “How are you holding up?” she asked. 

He shrugged. “Could be better, could be worse. I never thought I’d do something like this again” he said, wiping the trays clean. 

“It’s almost like you did your military service again, huh?” his father suddenly appeared, smiling at him. 

Chanyeol smiled back. “I doubt they taught you how to do what I can” 

“I’m proud of you, we’re proud of you” His parents went in to hug him. 

Chanyeol went back to waiting the tables, and as he cleaned up after the customers had gone, he glanced at the tv. “No one could have survived the blasts that occurred in the place that was once the location of the Youth Hostel in Ilsan. However, according to the police, the reign of terror that the elusive cult called the Utopians has come to an end thanks to a number of unidentified person and persons who risked their lives to save the city, and perhaps, the whole country” said the reporter. 

“Whoever they are, so many people owe them an unpayable debt” he overheard a woman say. 

“We believe that the Utopians are in league with the non-human entities that have invaded the city last year,” said the detective Chanyeol knew to be Ahn Sohee. “So it’s not far to assume that the people who saved us from the Utopians are also the same people who saved us from those aliens” she added. 

“Wherever they are, and whoever they might be, on behalf of everyone, we would like to say thank you” said a government official. 

However good it was to know everyone’s reactions to the incident, Chanyeol didn’t feel any better. Despite knowing that he did all he could, that he did what he had to do because it was right, the body count outweighed it all. Was it worth it? All this vigilante stuff? He thought to himself as he continued waiting tables and taking orders. 

~ 

Jaehwan was at his university’s graduation. He beamed at his guardians as well as his parents who were present, as he walked on stage and accepted his diploma. “On behalf of the university, we would like to present Kim Jaehwan with a special merit for services to the school” the president handed him another diploma. 

He looked stunned, unsure of whether he should have accepted it or not. “R-really? What did I do?” he muttered, making everyone laugh, including the teachers. 

“You saved a lot of people in this school” The university president told him. “Take it” he said. 

Jaehwan bowed and took the certificate, and he stopped to smile for a photo. “Kim Jaehwan! Kim Jaehwan! Kim Jaehwan!” Doyoung was cheering in his seat as he bowed a few times before walking off the stage and back to his seat.   
Once the ceremony was over, Jaehwan went up to greet his guardians and his parents. “Special award for services to the school, how did you get that?” His mother asked curiously. 

“He did some heroic deeds” Dongwook answered for him. “We were there when he saved many people from a falling stage set” he explained. 

“We’re so proud of you. That’s our Jaehwannie” His father then said, giving him a hug. 

Jaehwan just smiled. He partly expected that Chanyeol, Mirae, and Hyuk would be watching him from afar, but he understood at the same time that they needed to rebuild their lives again after the week they had. “So, now that you’ve graduated, I guess you’ll want to go home for a bit, hmm?” Bom asked him. 

“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that” He shook his head. He then remembered a conversation he had with Chanyeol and Hyuk before. That maybe he could join Hyuk’s company and continue pursuing music. “Well, actually, now that you mention it, I’d like to further pursue music” he said. 

“Oh? How? Will you take a masters degree?” His parents asked. 

Jaehwan shook his head. “No, I guess I could start learning from a friend of mine. Kwon Hyuk, he’s already graduated before I did, and he’s working for this company” he answered. Bom and Dongwook exchanged knowing looks. 

“In that case, we’ll move to Seoul” his parents suddenly suggested, making Jaehwan stare at them. “Yeah, it’s about time our family was together again” 

Jaehwan smiled. “That would be great.” 

“We could all live together” Bom and Dongwook suggested, and they laughed. 

Jaehwan bid his parents goodbye later on, all of them coming to an agreement to go over living arrangements once they came back to Seoul. He quietly got in the car and looked out the window. “Hey,” Bom looked at him from the mirror. 

“Hmm?” He asked, fixing his hair and putting his diploma and certificates aside. 

“How are you?” She asked. He could tell she was partly proud and partly concerned. Ever since the incident, Jaehwan had been in a daze. He was surprised that he was still considered to graduate after the invasion at the university, he was even more surprised when the realization hit him that he was there through it all, through the madness, and the chaos. He was fighting a fight he never thought he would be a part of. 

Jaehwan shrugged. “I’m alright, I guess” he said, as Dongwook started driving. “I feel good, but at the same time I don’t.” 

“How come?” Dongwook asked this time. 

“I don’t know. I guess it’s because I still can’t get over how I was there when it all happened,” Jaehwan shrugged. “All this time I was living a normal life, until last week. It was like going to war, but a different kind of war” 

His guardians nodded. “It does seem a little too good to be true. Perhaps it’s like that when you first start, you know?” Dongwook said, making a turn. “Were you happy?” he asked. 

The question was sudden, and yet Jaehwan felt like it was the most important question he had to ask himself after it all. He thought about it for a moment, and he nodded. “I was happy. Even with all the danger, it felt good to do something, to be friends with people who had powers too and were doing the same thing” he said, a small smile creeping up on his lips. 

Dongwook pulled over in front of an ice cream shop. “Look, if you want to do this whole, superhero-type things, we’ll be behind you all the way. If you also want to pursue your music, we’ll be supporting you too. I just want to tell you not to stretch yourself too thin, alright?” he said quietly. 

“I’ll try not to” Jaehwan nodded, feeling a little better. 

“Come on, let’s get some ice cream before we go home. Who wants takeout for dinner?” Bom asked as they got out. 

~ 

Mirae went back to attending to the store. It was busy as usual, with the groups of people walking in and out, coming out of the store with boxes of albums, sometimes buying out their entire stock in one go. Jihoon would come in to work part time everyday after school, helping out wherever he could while letting Mirae study for her online classes at the back. 

She stayed at the back living room, taking notes while watching the class from her laptop. She didn’t want to think about the incident, and what she had done. Mirae was part relieved that the trouble was over, but she was also in mourning after killing her own adoptive parents, who turned out to be behind the chaos that ensued all along. 

The back door suddenly opened and Hyuk stepped in, with two cups of iced coffee. “Hey you” he said, setting one cup down on the coffee table and sitting down on the chair. 

“Hey” Mirae put her notebook aside. “Thanks” she muttered, taking the cup on the table and sipping from it. 

Hyuk observed her. “I can tell you’ve mourned too” he said. 

“I don’t think I have much time to do that,” Mirae took another sip. She looked down at her drink for a moment, then looked back up at him. “But this whole thing’s just left me with questions, you know?” she said. Hyuk nodded. “Like what happened at the university. You made the bullet attack the shooter instead, right?” she asked. 

Hyuk shook his head. “It wasn’t me. I would know if it was, and it wasn’t me” he answered. 

She nodded. “What about the whole trigger thing? Was that you too?” Hyuk shook his head again. 

“Junhong must have found a way to do it. What did you feel?” He asked. 

Mirae shrugged. “I felt like someone was trying to shield me, really. Like some sort of hands covering my ears so I wouldn’t hear the words. And there was another guy present, he was with Junhong, helping Jihoon and Jiho out of the place” 

“Yeah, Jiho told me about that” Hyuk nodded. “He teleported them to a safe distance from the blasts, then just teleported away or something. Didn’t say who he was, just did what Junhong told him to do” 

“Do you think he helped me out with that?” Mirae asked. Hyuk shrugged, and another moment of silence came over them. 

~

The memorial site was filled with people, some dressed in black, some coming in to simply pay their respects, including some government officials. Mirae had arrived, along with Jihoon, as well as Hyuk and Jiho, Chanyeol and his family, and Jaehwan with Bom and Dongwook, all four of them dressed in black and holding flowers to place on the site. They entered the funeral hall and quietly set down the flowers. 

“Are the four of you related to the deceased?” An old couple approached them. 

“No, we’re not” They shook their heads. “But we’d like to pay our respects. We know how hard it is to lose people we hold dear” Hyuk replied quietly. The old couple smiled at them, then walked back to their table. 

They looked at the photos and names. “Were they right, though?” Mirae suddenly asked the three. “Were they right that they turned me into what they wanted me to be? Would that be what I am?” 

“If it was, if it wasn’t, it’s up to you” Hyuk advised. “We did all we could, Mirae, but no matter how many times we tell ourselves that, our conscience just tells us to feel bad” he frowned a little. 

“Dongwook asked me earlier today,” Jaehwan said. “If I was happy during that time we were being all superhero-like,” he looked at the three of them. 

“What did you say?” Chanyeol said. 

“I said I was. Because for the first time, I felt like I really had something valuable to offer this world” he explained. 

The three of them smiled. “That’s one way of putting it.” Hyuk chuckled. “I do agree. It was nice, and I did feel happy” 

“Me too” Mirae nodded, so did Chanyeol. 

“My parents want you all to have dinner with us later at the restaurant, are you guys up for something to eat?” Chanyeol then asked them. 

“Dinner would be good. I only had ice cream for lunch and we were going to get takeout anyway” Jaehwan rubbed his tummy and they laughed, quietly exiting the venue. 

Once they were outside, they looked up at the sky. It had gotten dark, and their loved ones were still inside, talking to other people who had come to pay their respects. “Now that you’re out of university, what are you going to do next?” Mirae asked him. 

“I thought I’d pursue my music. I really want to be a singer” He replied, glancing at Hyuk, who was nodding. 

“You’re already signed to us, kid,” Hyuk grinned. “Jiho’s pulled some strings too.” 

Jaehwan looked at the three of them. He was beaming, and he had never felt so happy, that he pulled the three of them for a group hug. “I love you all” he squeezed them, making them groan. 

“Okay, you can let go” Chanyeol patted his shoulder. 

“Yeah, before you crush us to death” Hyuk patted his shoulder as well. 

“Sorry” Jaehwan pulled away, the three of them trying to breathe properly again. 

Junhong suddenly appeared. “Come to pay your respects too?” He asked them. They nodded. “It’s a good thing I caught you here, especially you, Mirae,” he said. 

Mirae raised a brow. “Me? How so?” 

“You were asking me some questions before we left the Center that night, and I have the answers you need,” Junhong began. “If you want to know what those answers are, there’s someone you should meet...again, at least” he said. 

Hyuk’s expression dropped once he read Junhong’s mind. “Really…? He’s there?” he asked. 

“Who’s there?” Jaehwan and Chanyeol turned to the telepath. 

“An old friend. Unfortunately, Mirae can’t meet him like this,” Junhong looked apologetic. “I’m sorry Mirae, but I’ll have to do something you’re not going to like” he said. 

“What are you going to do?” Mirae asked. 

“Pandora’s box” Junhong recited. 

She felt that twitch again, and as Junhong repeated the words over and over, she fell to her knees, clutching her head. The trigger hadn’t gone away, and Mirae slowly felt all control being sucked away from her, all her movements involuntary yet her tactical instincts were the same. “Mirae” Jaehwan was about to hold her when Hyuk stopped him. “What are you doing, Junhong?” shock was written all over his face. 

“It’s the only way for us to get rid of the trigger,” Hyuk explained. “Jaehwan, you’ll have to bring her to the roof-”

A man suddenly appeared next to Junhong. Hyuk recognized him as the one who helped Jiho and Jihoon teleport out of the center. “The jet is ready for the five of you” he said, observing Mirae, who was still clutching her head as she started to go into the trance. 

“I’ll tell Jihoon what’s going on” Hyuk nodded. “Bring her to the jet” 

Jaehwan on the other hand, had yet to register what the man had said. “Wait, what’s going on?” he asked. 

“What jet?” Chanyeol had yet to register what was happening as well. 

The man went up to Mirae and pressed his two fingers on her forehead, as Chanyeol tried to restrain her. As he pulled his fingers away, there was a little sphere of light between them. “Sleep” he whispered, and she collapsed. “I’ll bring her to the jet. We should be in Summerland in a few hours” he told Junhong. He grabbed Mirae’s hand and they had vanished.


End file.
